


What Father Means

by lavender coin (idyII)



Series: we create our own luck [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Family Fluff, Father Figures, Gen, M/M, Multi, Parent Qrow Branwen, Unconventional Families, qrow has 20 adopted children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:07:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22044592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idyII/pseuds/lavender%20coin
Summary: Ruby was doing that thing she always did, where she spoke so quickly out of excitement that all her words came out a jumbled mess, but Qrow picked up on a word hanging in the middle of her jabber."Yay-thank-you-so-much-Dad-I-can't-wait-I'll-go-getreadyinajiffy!!!"With a burst of rose petals, she went streaming down the hall with her Semblance active and left him standing there staring at the wall, unaware of his blank expression.Something inside of him felt like it was going to explode. Or fall down a cliff. Or crack, somehow. He didn't know how to describe this feeling. She'd just called him her dad?Or, Qrow is the accidental father of many children and comes to accept this. It slowly becomes apparent to other people. Clover Ebi remains determined to make him take a compliment.(Runs alongside glad to say)
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Qrow Branwen, Jaune Arc & Qrow Branwen, Qrow Branwen & Lie Ren, Qrow Branwen & Nora Valkyrie, Qrow Branwen & Oscar Pine, Qrow Branwen & Penny Polendina, Qrow Branwen & Ruby Rose, Qrow Branwen & Weiss Schnee, Qrow Branwen & Yang Xiao Long, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: we create our own luck [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1590316
Comments: 114
Kudos: 730





	1. let's let this happen

Peachy was not the first word Qrow would use to describe how he felt in the morning. That was, however, what Yang had called him when she passed him in the hallway on her way from the dining hall. “You’re looking peachy today, Uncle Qrow,” she’d said with a grin identical to her father’s, bringing back way too many memories of how much of an asshole Taiyang had been in their school days. Qrow would feel nostalgic if he wasn’t still planning revenge over the skirt incident.

He grumbled in response and ignored how Ren, Nora and Blake seemed to snicker into their hands as the passed him. They were probably going on a mission together- Qrow thought their team name should be “Denial Central” in that case. It wasn’t like Yang to get _cold feet_ , but damn if her confessing to Blake had happened yet.

He always figured it would’ve raised his hackles to be laughed at, but it was different when the kids did it. They _always_ did that. Giggled at dumb little things…with what they’d been through, Qrow was glad they could laugh a little bit. He’d gladly let it be at his expense if it meant they were a little happier.

Ruby was apparently not going with them, as Crescent Rose was nowhere in sight and she didn’t have much of her gear on. She was jogging like Winter had told them five times in a row not to do in the halls when she lit up when she saw him, careening over to him at a jittery speed that suggested Clover had let her try some of his coffee. Again. Hadn’t that dumb not-perfect man with his dumb not-perfect face learned the first time?

“Uncle Qrowwwwwww!” she yelled, attaching herself to his arm like she used to do when it had been a long time since she’d seen him, whether it be due to a trip for Ozpin or his own dumb, drunken shenanigans. Qrow wished he’d been smarter, hadn’t wasted so much time in bottles when things had been peaceful and he could just spend time with the girls and not worry over things. “I’ve been looking for you!”

“Did you find me in the coffee pot?” he snorted, making a weak attempt to shake her off with no heart behind it. It was his way of teasing.

“No,” she replied with a grin, that looked so much like Yang’s. Or maybe it was Summer’s, when she needled Qrow about his crushes. “But I beat Harriet out of the hall! Clover looked really surprised.”

Qrow’s eyebrow arched up. _He_ wasn’t surprised. He knew exactly what happened: Ruby with her innocent eyes asking how the _mind-numbingly strong_ coffee Clover drank tasted, him giving her some, then him reaping what he sowed when she shot around the kitchen like a ping-pong ball. He rolled his eyes.

“I’m gonna have to talk to him about giving you anything caffeinated.”

“You should!” she burst out, grin brightening to a frankly scary level. There was a shine in her eyes when he mentioned that, for what reason, he didn’t know. “You should go talk to him!”

Qrow’s raised eyebrow raised even further. “…right,” he replied, suspiciously, because he really didn’t trust that face. Or feeling like there was something she knew that he didn’t. Or _thought_ she knew. But he really didn’t feel like talking to Clover with his weird earnestness and stubborn refusal to stop _complimenting_ him. “I’ll do that later.”

That seemed to remind Ruby of why she’d gone looking for him in the first place, as the shine in her eyes was replaced by a different one; one a little less…odd. “Oh, right! Uncle Qrow, I found you on the internet,” she said in a whisper, as if this was a secret they couldn’t share with anyone, even bigger than the one about Salem.

Qrow’s face looked vaguely unimpressed and a little bit confused. Looking around and vaguely resembling a rat hunched over its hard-won food, she pulled out her Scroll and tapped on the screen with frightening speed. Were Ruby and Yang spending too much time on the internet again now that they were actually in a place that _had_ internet? At least it wasn’t the global internet, where they might fall into something like the black market. He wouldn’t put it past them.

“Look!” she flipped it around so he could see, and he begrudgingly bent over a bit. His back was vaguely sore from sleeping in such uncomfortably curled positions every night. He couldn’t help it; Atlas was just too damned cold.

On screen, an old, _old_ video played, a recording of a very minor competition at one of the ice-skating gyms down in Mantle. It had just been in-gym, not regional, but it still sent Qrow careening back into a time when he and the team had traveled a bit before things just…fell apart between them all. Mostly them all and Raven.

He and Summer had been the ones who loved skating. Raven could do it, but only for functionality; she had no interest in “dumb ice dancing.” And Taiyang couldn’t go a few feet without falling on his ass, something that sent the rest of them into hysterics. He and Summer, though, had enjoyed skating together; in the video, they hadn’t been really in the gym to go anywhere, just to enjoy it.

He watched his past self- younger, but still just as lanky, just less tired-looking- throw Summer into a jump and catch her on the way down. She laughed, which had gotten them a few points taken off for being unprofessional, but they hadn’t cared.

He lifted a hand to run through his hair and sighed. Watching that made his heart hurt, something that would never heal- Summer had been his best friend. But it made him a little happy, too. He felt like he hadn’t thought of those days in years. Or, at least, he’d shoved those happy memories deep deep down so he wouldn’t feel bad about failing her every time he drank. It felt…good, to remember.

“Yeah, your mom and I really enjoyed that. Been a long time.”

Ruby’s smile sparkled. “Will you teach me?” she asked excitedly, bopping up and down on her heels. Qrow looked at her in surprise.

“It’s been a _really_ long time, kiddo. I’m not sure I even know how anymore.”

“But you were so good! It’s like fighting, right? It never goes away? We could just go see if you can do simple stuff!” Her eyes turned pleading, quite wide and shimmery. It was her doe-eyes defense. Qrow had only been able to rebuff it once, when she was four and begged to go with him on a mission. “You and _Mom_ did it…I want to too.”

He let out a sigh that was not altogether unamused. There wasn’t really any stopping Ruby once she set her mind on something. “Well, all right,” he gave in. On cue, her grin returned with an energetic force. “You’ve been working so much lately, I’m sure old Ironwood won’t mind if you take a few hours for old Uncle Qrow to teach you something. As a matter of fact, I remember those days really did help our fighting.”

“Yay!” Ruby started jumping up and down with a squeal. Qrow spotted one of the Ace Ops out of the corner of his eye walking down the hall- which one was it? Elm? Qrow really didn’t remember any of their names but Clover. She gave Ruby a curious glance, but it wasn’t ill-intended as she continued on her way.

Ruby was doing that thing she always did, where she spoke so quickly out of excitement that all her words came out a jumbled mess, but Qrow picked up on a word hanging in the middle of her jabber.

"Yay-thank-you-so-much-Dad-I-can't-wait-I'll-go-getreadyinajiffymaybeWeisswillevenwanttocome!!!"

With a burst of rose petals, she went streaming down the hall with her Semblance active and left him standing there staring at the wall, unaware of his blank expression.

Something inside of him felt like it was going to explode. Or fall down a cliff. Or crack, somehow. He didn't know how to describe this feeling.

She'd just called him her _dad_?

* * *

“Qrow? Is something wrong?”

There was a hand waving back and forth in front of his face. Qrow looked to the side, where those stupid fingers were attached to a stupid arm that was attached to a stupid man. He pretended not to notice _himself_ noticing Clover’s hands, noticing his arms, noticing his everything. Clover was very noticeable. His hands were long but firm, his biceps impressive enough to make his lack of sleeves look on-purpose.

Ignore that train of thought. “What?” Qrow said, as if he was one of Atlas’ robots that did nothing but beep all day. Clover raised an eyebrow at him, obviously curious.

“You’ve been standing there staring at the wall for over five minutes now.”

“Oh.” Qrow looked away and coughed into his wrist, cursing himself. _Get ahold of yourself, bird-brain._ “Yeah, uh…I just have to…make a call.”

His brain backtracked to the only viable solution to this. He needed to call Taiyang for help. He was Ruby’s _actual_ father. Plus he’d always been the responsible one.

He pulled out his Scroll on autopilot and fast-tracked to his emergency contacts, a mere click away from the home screen, pulling up Tai’s contact as he turned aside and opened his mouth to excuse himself. “Yeah, I’ll just…go do that…”

He caught a glimpse of Clover’s face. His eyes were lingering on Taiyang’s photograph listed on his contact. They weren’t…impolite, exactly, but they’d lost the friendlier sort of edge they had when they looked at Qrow. He looked curious, but in a different way. His arms drew up to cross themselves over his chest, which Qrow recognized as…something. He never did that at Qrow specifically. He didn’t really know what, but he knew Clover’s body language. Somehow.

Just ignore the train of thought, Qrow.

Clover shifted, his countenance changing, and nodded at him with a smile and a teasing salute. Qrow wrangled the tiny smile that tried to claw its way onto his face and escape down the hall, hoping Taiyang wasn’t busy doing something stupid like grading badly-written papers.

* * *

“Qrow?”

“I have a problem,” Qrow blurted out in the safety of his room. It wasn’t in the dorms, like the girls’ were, but closer to where the Ace Operatives stayed.

He also hadn’t decorated it at all. It wasn’t as if Team RWBY had decked theirs out like it was permanent, of course, but they had made small touches to make it feel more like home. They had chosen a room usually meant for freshman, with two bunks in each room attached by a common room. In theirs, Yang and Blake had hung bright orange curtains and acquired a few books. Weiss had decorated a bit more, making it look like a Schnee residence while Ruby kept a pot of flowers on the windowsill.

Qrow’s looked empty and almost sterile. He had barely touched anything but the bed and closet. He _had_ acquired a few spare blankets from random supply closets he’d found, but they were balled up in a mess because every night was a struggle to get some sort of combination that chased the cold away.

“Well, what is it?” Tai asked after a few moments of silent contemplation. Qrow could just see him rolling his eyes. The first time Qrow had called in months, and this is what he started with.

“Ruby…” He trailed off, growing a little hesitant, but pushed on. “Ruby, she…she called me Dad.”

He tried to ignore how small he sounded near the end. How cracked. The reasons why.

“Okay,” Taiyang said slowly, as if talking to a small child. “And?”

Qrow’s brain fizzled out. “What do you mean and?”

“And? So she called you Dad? What’s the point?”

“Wh…but- well- what do you mean, Tai!” Qrow practically shrilled, fisting a hand in his hair. It was getting longer again. “ _You’re_ her dad!”

“Yes, I am,” Taiyang repeated back at him in that infuriating teacher voice. “Astute observation, Qrow. Good talk.”

“Don’t hang up on me!” Qrow warned, starting to pace. “Aren’t you upset? Don’t you have a problem with this?”

“Why on earth would I?” Taiyang sounded mystified. “Do _you_ have a problem with it?”

Qrow stopped and took his hand out of his hair, rubbing at where his neck felt too hot and stammering. “I-I, no…”

“Then there isn’t a problem. What, did you think I would think you’re replacing me or something and be offended?”

Qrow was silent. He never liked to reply to Tai when he called him on his exact line of bullshit.

Taiyang sighed. Qrow knew that sigh. It was the “I’m stirring noodle soup right now and you’re distracting me from getting the seasoning right” sigh.

“Qrow, I assumed you already figured as much, but I have no problem with Ruby- or Yang, for that matter- looking up to you like that. Our family may have had its losses, but it is not fragile. I know they love me, and I love them. And they love you too. You’ve taken care of them all this time, and Ruby, god, she _idolizes_ you, you know?” A rush of guilt pulsed through Qrow, reminding him of how badly he’d failed at “taking care of them” when they’d been traveling to Atlas. “It’s not like you can have one father and that’s it. Why on earth would Ruby looking at you like a father mean she doesn’t look at me like that anymore? I know my girls. I’d never be worried. And, really, what’s the harm in two dads taking care of them?” Tai paused, then spoke with some mixture of regret or sadness or even bitterness. “They don’t have any mothers left.”

That stopped Qrow cold in his tracks. He looked down, guiltily, wondering if his instinct to balk was just him being selfish.

“Besides,” Tai continued lightly, tone shifting. “From what I’ve heard they might have three fathers soon! Wouldn’t that be great?”

“Hey!”

Taiyang laughed at him. Qrow told himself he didn’t know what the man was laughing about.

“I know you’ve probably got a complex the size of Atlas about fatherhood and guilt and also your drinking, because this is you, but it doesn’t have to be complicated,” Tai continued, again making Qrow wince. Why did he have to be so blunt and perceptive? “It just means taking care of them. It just means caring. I know you’ve had some…troubles. But you’re still trying. That’s what it’s really about.”

 _Did Ruby or Yang tell him?_ If that was the case, it just made Qrow feel even worse, that Tai would be so forgiving. He’d _failed_ the kids so much in that little village.

“I know what you’re thinking. I’m such a failure, wah blah blah. Qrow, just let yourself be happy for once, will you? Let your family love you. You already know how.”

Taiyang actually hung up that time, leaving Qrow alone in his room with his thoughts. He supposed he did know how. He remembered one time when he’d taken the girls to the movies, back when they’d just gotten into Beacon and they saw the future so bright, and they’d ended up falling asleep on him in the middle of the movie. Qrow had just sat there and kept an arm around each of them, content for once.

 _Just let them love me, huh?_ Qrow didn’t think he was ever going to be fixed by magically sitting back and just letting his baggage go, but maybe he could manage this.

(And inadvertently confuse the hell out of the Ace Operatives, who had a running bet going on whether he was Ruby’s father, uncle, or much older brother.)


	2. fatherly advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow, like us all, is both good and bad at being The Adult

As it turned out, Weiss _had_ wanted to come along. She actually seemed strangely enthusiastic about it. Sure, for a Schnee “enthusiastic” meant acting like she was doing them a favor by coming along, but she’d practically jumped into the ship taking them down to Mantle and now sat between him and Ruby tapping her heels on the floor. She didn’t seem to be aware she was doing it.

“Finally!” she exclaimed when they landed, getting out of her seat just slowly enough she wasn’t obviously rushing. “I know just the perfect place! Just follow me, you two.”

She sounded so proud of it that Qrow easily acquiesced and let his hands fall into his pockets as he followed her off the ship and into the streets. Weiss had a certain confidence in her quick stride, but part of it was bluster. He knew that well enough by now.

_“Hey, ice princess. How’re you feeling?”_

He’d felt _so shitty_ after Lionheart. After seeing her bleed out on the floor. If he could’ve taken the shot himself, he would have- he would have for any of them. The least he could do was check on her after, make sure she wasn’t permanently traumatized or anything like that. God, did Winter even know?

_“I’m just so tired of always being the one who goes down first,” she whispered, looking ashamed._

Believe it or not, Qrow knew exactly what she was talking about. On his team, he’d been the one with the least stamina. Despite her small stature, and lack of extreme physical strength, Summer was actually a powerhouse when it came to stubbornly refusing to stop fighting. Raven had always outclassed him in their youth, and Taiyang- well, he could take a building falling on top of him without breaking a sweat.

He’d hated having to have his team come through for him to save his ass- or, worse, just hoping his Semblance would cause trouble for whoever was causing him trouble before he went down. He’d trained himself over the years to get where he was, but he remembered well being where Weiss was. Whenever they had a spare moment, as far and few between as they were, he tried to help her train. The girl was actually much better with swordsmanship than he was, when it came to the technical parts- he was, after all, a scythe man first and foremost.

She moved a little more like Ruby, now. Using momentum for her benefit, bouncing off her gravity seals.

Weiss actually smiled when she led them into the ice rink she had in mind, running off to go pay for rentals without pausing. Qrow would have paid, being the adult in the room, but there was an excitement in her fingers as she reached for her wallet. Probably excited to pay for something with her own earned money, instead of Schnee bills.

“She seems really excited, huh Uncle Qrow?” Ruby asked as she bounced along beside him, curious. Qrow jolted, briefly thinking back to when she’d called him Dad in the hall, and cleared his throat.

“Yeah, I’m guessing she likes skating. By the way, I figured you but how does she know my shoe size?”

Ruby giggled. It was a little disturbing. “It’s just a habit! Weiss likes to keep track of everyone’s measurements for gifts.”

“Uh…” That was a little weird, to be honest, but he decided to let it slide. Let the girl have her hobbies. He supposed she would have been more into gift-giving, had they not been in a military base fighting a crazy Grimm lady who wanted to end the world. “Sure. Did you tell her?”

“Oh, no, Blake did. Well, she asked Blake to ask Yang, and she couldn’t remember so she asked me, so I guess I kind of told her, but Blake told her.”

_Of course Ruby knows my shoe size somehow._

“Here we go,” Weiss stated loudly as she reappeared, carrying three pairs of skates in her hands. She had a tilt to her chin that looked less like pride nowadays. It was almost like she was smiling.

“Yay!” Ruby had snatched hers and disappeared in a flurry of red in mere seconds, leaving Qrow windblown. He really should say something about doing that.

“Thanks, princess,” he said, riding a little on autopilot as he took his shoes and headed for the outside of the rink where there were stands. He missed Weiss preening, looking particularly happy with herself.

Qrow got himself out on the ice first. The whole building was pretty empty- people in Mantle probably weren’t too big on going out for ice skating right now- save for a few people in the far corner that weren’t paying them attention.

He warmed up a little, testing his balance, and it altogether wasn’t too difficult. He was a bit rusty, but he was still a Huntsman; he knew how to balance on Harbinger’s handle, so balancing on ice skates wasn’t too hard.

“Uncle Qrow!” With a poof of flower petals, Ruby had exploded right into him, skidding on the ice and waving her arms. Snorting, he grabbed her arms to set her steady and help her stop.

“Too good for the gates, huh?”

“I got excited,” she said with a sheepish smile.

He was helping her glide, slowly, with her arms out for balance as they neared the edge of the rink, when he heard an odd clacking sound. It alerted him to Weiss, stomping as best she could in her skates (which really shouldn’t have looked as comical as it did) closer to him with her arms crossed over her chest and her face caught in an angry huff.

“Qrow!”

“S’the matter, ice princess?” he asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow. There was a teenager standing behind her, a boy taller than her, who had been standing against the gate with folded arms and a smirk, but who had begun to look a bit sheepish.

“This _cretin_ ,” she explained, pointing at the boy with an angry flick of her arm, “won’t let me in the ring because it’s ‘too dangerous for little girls!’”

She sounded so offended that Qrow would have almost laughed if she wasn’t genuinely upset. He turned his raised eyebrow on the boy, easily guessing what had happened. Very bad attempt to tease so as to flirt, wrong method, wrong tree. Weiss was too proud to hop over the fence like Ruby with her skirt and knew she couldn’t smack the shit out of a civilian either. She also wanted to deal with it herself, but was too impatient to wait and wanted it done now.

“Oh?” The eyebrow raised higher. “Did he now?”

The boy swallowed. What traces of confidence he’d had in his face started to fade. He’d probably be taller than Qrow, in about five years, but right now he was still the sheepish teenager where Qrow had a dead-eyed stare he used on Grimm.

“Uh…well, I mean, uh…you can go in,” he ended up stammering out with a wince, stepping aside.

“Hmph!” Weiss strode past him and tossed her head, flicking her braid in his face, and Qrow almost winced. That thing looked like it hurt.

Ruby, as usual, was either oblivious to most of the exchange or just ignored it. Lately, Qrow had been suspecting she fell into the latter category most of the time. “Weiss, come skate with us!”

It was funny, watching Ruby flail like a duckling while trying to hold hands with Weiss, who obviously knew what she was doing. Qrow was content to just glide along at a slow pace and enjoy the moment.

He ended up staring at the ceiling without really paying attention to where he was going, using the sound of their voices to ensure he didn’t run into them. It was nice to just ease by, like he was floating in a lake, staring at the sky, at everything bigger than himself. He used to enjoy doing that while he was in the tribe. Finding a place with water, floating there, almost letting himself stay there forever instead of going back.

A sharp crack caught his attention. “ _Ow!_ ” Weiss hissed, holding a hand to her forehead where she’d hit her head on the hard ice. She must have slipped, probably because she was busy looking at where Ruby was carefully trying to speed up.

“Weiss!” Ruby, of course, sped over, nearly falling over herself in the process. “Are you ok-”

“I’m fine!” There was something off about Weiss’ face. She wasn’t looking at Ruby, head turned stubbornly to the side, but Qrow could see her biting her lip. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

But she was still holding her head, and her hand was shaking.

Qrow quickly skated over and placed a hand on Ruby’s shoulder, blindly placing some money from his pocket into her hand. “Ruby, why don’t you go buy us some shoes to break in later?” It was an obvious hint, and, luckily, she took it, using her Semblance to get off the ice without falling on her face.

Qrow slowly knelt down and looked Weiss in the face, even if she wasn’t looking at him. “What’s the matter, princess? I know you’re tough. A little bruise ain’t gonna make you upset.”

“It’s nothing,” she repeated, even though it obviously wasn’t. She sounded like she was more desperate to convince herself than him. “I-I just, used to come skate here when I was a kid, and one time my father came to see, and I was so excited, but.” Her lip was wobbling. It made Qrow feel like someone had grabbed ahold of his heart and started squeezing. It was like when Ruby or Yang cried. “I fell down, I was so…so excited he would see, but he said to stop crying and left. Schnees…don’t cry.”

 _I was so embarrassed,_ hung on the end of her sentence, unsaid.

 _That fucking asshole,_ Qrow thought, feeling something vile and bitter.

“Come here, princess,” he said, opening his arms, without really thinking about it. It wasn’t like he’d ever hugged Weiss, but it felt right, somehow. What else could he do?

She almost looked like she was going to brush it off, but as soon as she looked at him her eyes started to water. It was harder to hide things when people looked at you. Qrow knew that well.

Sniffling, she inched forward and buried her face in his shoulder, holding onto his vest. He rested a hand on her hair and stroked her braid. This poor teenager was probably more traumatized from her own father than _actually_ almost dying.

“Princess, you’re better than a bitter, lonely old man could hope to be. You’re a good friend, a good Huntress, a good person. I know you can’t just forget whatever he said to you, but he was wrong. And you don’t have to be perfect. Nobody is.”

He pretended, for her pride, not to notice her sniffling. “T-Thank you, Qrow,” she said into his vest, sounding so, incredibly small. Then, so quiet he almost didn’t hear it, she muttered- probably not meaning to say it aloud- “I wish my dad was like you…”

Qrow’s voice caught in his throat. He almost wanted to say even mildly decent garbage looked great compared to total, utter garbage, but he wasn’t going to make her feel bad with his self-depreciation. He pretended not to hear, patting her on the head again.

“Come on, kid,” he urged, unfolding himself to stand up. He couldn’t resist another pat to the head when she stood up beside him, so used to ruffling Ruby’s hair. He slung an arm over her shoulders, taking a moment to note if she seemed averse to it, as they skated towards the entrance. “We can freeze one of them practice rooms up top, make our own ice rink.” When she cracked a smile, he added, quieter, acting as he was talking about skating, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

* * *

“Oh yeah,” Qrow said with a sheepish grimace when he looked at his Scroll for the first time since leaving it in the rink’s lockers, seeing the twenty-seven messages and missed calls from Ironwood, thirteen from Clover, and fifty-eight from Winter. Whew. “I kinda…forgot to tell anyone where we were going.”

“Uncle Qrow!” Ruby cried, slapping a hand to her forehead. “Is this why I have over thirty missed messages?”

“Maybe,” he mumbled, opening his conversation with James and grimacing further. “Wonder if I should text or call…”

He decided to go with texting. Skimming over the variety of long, concerned messages, he typed out,

_Sorry, 4got to tell u. went smw w ruby and weiss_

Ah, perfect. This was gonna get an aneurysm.

Immediately, his Scroll blared with a loud alarm he definitely hadn’t set. It had probably done that before, but the lockers were in a back room.

Wincing, Qrow hesitantly answered and the screen opened to Ironwood’s enraged face.

“ _Sorry, forgot to tell you, went somewhere?!”_ he thundered, one eyebrow twitching dangerously. “Do you even _know_ how worried we’ve been? You three just disappeared at random onto a transport ship!”

“I’m _really_ sorry I forgot to tell you?” Qrow tried. Wrong thing to say- Ironwood looked like he was about to bust a vein. Someone off to the side made a noise of frustration.

Going with his usual ditz routine was probably a bad choice, considering how stressed James had been (and how _tired_ he’d been), but something very ornery in Qrow couldn’t resist. Maybe it’d remind Jimmy of when his biggest worry had been Qrow tearing up the front yard in Beacon. Yeah, that was definitely a reason.

“Being _really sorry_ does not make up for leaving for three hours unattended.”

“Come on, Jimmy, I’m not a dog. I’m not gonna break a bar again,” Qrow said, ignoring how Ruby’s eyes got very wide in the way that indicated she would definitely be begging for that story later. “Or a courtyard. Or a-”

On cue, the mirror in the locker room shattered, making the trio wince.

“Some mirrors may be harmed,” Qrow finished.

“I am _referring_ to the fact that right now, we all have targets on our back,” James told him with a scowl. “You three could have been attacked with no help. I have told your group over and over to turn the tracking in their Scrolls on, yet you still haven’t listened.”

Okay, but it was creepy! Blake and Yang definitely didn’t want anyone knowing where they were when they went on their “friend dates.” “I suppose you’ve got a point there,” Qrow ceded. “Anyway, want anything from Mantle? A meat kabob? Some popcorn?”

“Why would I- no. Just no.” James pinched the bridge of his eyes and closed his eyes. At least Qrow was performing the important duty of distracting him from boring paperwork. “Just get back up here.”

“I would like to note I _did_ remember to mark us as idle on the mission board,” Qrow got in, making James’ face twist again. “And also- you know what, I’ll let you get back to your paperwork,” he said when it looked like James might explode, quickly pressing the end call button.

He looked down at Ruby and Weiss’ expectant faces. “Hey, at least he didn’t say the g-word.”

“G-word?” they echoed together.

“Grounded.”

* * *

Qrow took on the solemn duty of talking James down, letting Ruby and Weiss off, and stood in the man’s office for about twenty minutes holding a subtle balance between ribbing him and actually apologizing. Qrow could admit what he’d (accidentally!) done was probably irresponsible, but hey, the man did actually look disappointed to go back to his papers.

Mission accomplished.

He’d barely been wandering the halls for two minutes after leaving James’ office when a hand wrapped around his elbow and yanked him, quite hard. With a yelp, Qrow stumbled into the narrow hall the hand had pulled him into, and stumbled right into Clover.

Startled, he pushed his chin off of Clover’s shoulder and found the man staring at him with some sort of intensity. He didn’t look pissed off, per se, but he definitely didn’t look happy.

“What was that?”

“What was what?” Qrow parroted, then briefly remembered his missed messages from Clover. Right. The man had been looking for him too. Why’d he have to have been looking for him?

“Disappearing for three hours without saying anything,” Clover said, verging near the edge of snapping. He was so controlled, so calm all the time. Qrow wondered, for a moment, what it would take to make the man lose it. Lose all of that trained composure.

Bad, bad train of thought.

“It was fine.” He tried to wave his arm, but Clover still had ahold of it. Qrow swallowed and ignored the way the man’s hand encased his arm. It wasn’t like Clover was a giant like James, and being that he was only a little taller than Qrow, it was easy to forget… No, no, back on track. “We didn’t get attacked or anything.”

“But you _could_ have,” Clover emphasized. “Qrow, you can’t _do_ that.”

Qrow felt a little offended. Who said he had to go around telling Clover what he was doing all the time? He could do what he wanted.

_Yeah, that’s definitely what this is about._

“I said it was fine,” he said through gritted teeth, a spark of annoyance flashing in his eyes. It made Clover pause, obviously considering him and recalculating in that irritating way of his.

The other man’s voice dropped, becoming quiet. His face became unreadable. No, there was something there- he looked sad. He looked like Taiyang when Qrow did stupid shit. “Qrow…I was _worried_.”

Oh. Fuck. Now Qrow felt like an asshole.

 _He shouldn’t be worried,_ he tried to convince himself. _I can take care of myself._

“I know you can take care of yourself,” Clover continued, as if he was a mind-reader, making Qrow wince. “But Qrow, I didn’t know what that was like.”

“What- what what was like?” Qrow felt stupid for repeating one word so many times, but his thoughts were starting to stutter.

Clover’s eyes bored into him. “Not knowing where you were or if you were safe or not. I didn’t like that feeling.” Damn him, damn his insistence on staring at Qrow with nothing but _earnestness_ , damn him for saying _that_ \- when was the last time someone acted like this when they didn’t know where Qrow was? That was half of Qrow’s life, being the one who went out without knowing if he was coming back or not.

 _Fuck_.

“We’re partners, Qrow. Yes, I’m part of the Ace Ops, but even operative teams don’t last…forever. And I get along with them, I care for them, but you- you’re my friend, on and off the job. I know we haven’t been…working together…extremely long,” Clover said, in such an odd way, as if he wanted to say something else but was forced to substitute the words with an inadequate replacement, “but…I don’t want to lose you. Haven’t you noticed the _reason_ we work so well as partners? We-” His hand loosened, suddenly, drifting up Qrow’s arm, as if it had a mind of its own. Indeed, Clover didn’t seem fully aware of his hand as it came to rest on Qrow’s collarbone. His fingers splayed out, reaching, slowly curling over the side of Qrow’s neck, making his pulse quicken. How long had it been- “We’re perfect for each other.”

 _Oh fuck_ , Qrow’s entire body yelled at him. Those puppy-dog eyes, the gentleness in Clover’s voice, how honest he sounded- he sounded like he really meant that.

_Brothers, I can’t tell him he’s right. I can’t-_

Something clattered in the hall. Someone dropped a box from a transport, most likely. No matter what it was, it broke the tension mounting as they stared at each other, and Qrow jumped.

“Uh-” He glanced back and forth between Clover and the hallway like a startled bird. Ironically, that’s what he was. “I…uh…sorry. It really was an accident. I’ll try not to…do those sorts of things very often. I’ll…I should go check on Yang, she’ll be back by now…”

“Right.” Clover was staring at him, and Qrow would have figured he would’ve looked disappointed after that…moment…was broken, but for some reason, a small smile had appeared on his face. Back to usual Clover. His hand had dropped, but he raised it to pat Qrow on the upper arm. “I’m sorry for overreacting, I was just concerned.”

Qrow nodded mutely and stepped into the hall, unsure of what else to say. Fleeing seemed like a good option. Maybe hiding in his room for a while, but he was an adult. _Just get out of there you awkward son of a bitch._

* * *

God, this was terrible.

This was so terrible.

Qrow didn’t know what he was going to do.

God, this was _terrible_.

There on his room’s dresser, where he usually deposited anything he picked up in his crow form, sat Clover’s…well, clover pin.

The fucking clover pin. That was extremely shiny.

Qrow couldn’t help it. He’d been flying through the halls, as he was wont to do sometimes, and it had just been…sitting on the counter. In the kitchen. With nobody there.

Sometimes he didn’t think so straight as a crow. Sometimes he just snatched things up, overcome with the urge to horde them.

…and maybe, that urge had combined with the affection trying to claw its way out of his heart.

And now he was sitting here with Clover’s clover pin and no idea what to do.

Maybe he could say he’d found it on the floor? But it had been sitting on a towel, far from the edge of the counter, obviously having just been washed. There were no breezes in the halls, so it wasn’t as though something could have knocked it that far. Nor did it make sense to imply someone had taken it, in the Ace-Operatives-only kitchen (that Qrow was allowed into) for some unknown reason and then abandoned it somewhere.

…fuck.

Of course, he _could_ come out with the truth and say “I can turn into a crow that wants to steal shiny shit,” but that was. A little bit out there.

He could show Clover, literally, but…Qrow had told so few people over the years. It felt so private.

Even though he really wanted to show Clover. For some godawful reason.

He’d dialed Taiyang before he knew what he was doing and lifted his Scroll to his ear. He knew Tai was usually busy doing _something_ with his hands, so it was easier to just call rather than chat over video.

“Qrow?”

“I accidentally stole something I shouldn’t have,” he said, immediately spilling his guts. Classy.

Taiyang sighed. “You always have the best opening lines, bud.”

“It’s Clover’s clover pin,” Qrow explained, looking down at it like it might disappear and solve his problem.

“The guy has a clover pin?”

“Yes, Tai,” Qrow replied heatedly. “And I don’t know what to do with it.”

“Why don’t you just give it back?”

“I can’t. It was on the counter in the kitchen only Ace Ops are allowed into, and it wasn’t near any edge. No one else has any reason to just grab it, it’s obviously his…he’ll know I took it no matter what.”

Qrow ground his teeth when he heard Taiyang chuckling. “I really need to meet this guy. I’ve never seen you so worked up over anyone.”

“I’m not worked up. I just don’t want to show I’m a weirdo who can turn into a bird to people unnecessarily.”

Taiyang hummed. “Well, this is a predicament. Can’t scare him off yet, huh?”

“Tai.”

“Why don’t you sneak back in and put it back? Then maybe he’ll think he was just imagining things. Sometimes I turn around and think I’ve lost something, then it’s right there where I left it. Half the time I’m convinced you’re actually still here and fucking with me.”

Qrow paused. “That’s…a good idea, actually. I’ll try that.”

“No need to thank me, I’m used to being the solution to all your disasters.”

“Fuck you,” Qrow said without any heat, hanging up. He grabbed the pin and thought for a moment. Clover wasn’t out on a mission, so he’d probably be in his room- the other Ace Ops _were_ on missions, so the kitchen was probably empty. Perfect opportunity.

Except, when he stepped out of his room, Yang was standing there, about to knock. “What’s up, firecracker?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow, momentarily distracted from his own problems.

His hand returned to his pocket, hiding the pin from view.

“Oh, hey,” she said, looking surprised. “I just came to ask you a question.”

“Well, I’m all ears.”

“Yeah…right.” It wasn’t like Yang to hedge around anything, but she looked nervous as she shifted her weight from foot to foot, like she was about to go into a sparring ring. “Well, uh…” When Qrow raised an eyebrow, her face started to turn red. “How do you ask someone out?”

Oh, boy. Did Yang of all people really need his help with this? She went around leaping into giant Grimm mouths.

“You know…since you and Clover…” Her eyes slid from side to side, making him pause.

“Wait, me and Clover what?”

“You know, you’re…”

“We’re. We’re not.” His brain stalled as he stared at her, awkwardly, making it more awkward by the moment. “Uh. We aren’t.” It sounded more like a question than a hard and fast statement.

Something shifted in her expression. Suddenly, she looked younger. A little more nervous. “Oh! Well, uh, sorry, I just thought…well, since…I guess it doesn’t matter, um…” It _really_ wasn’t like Yang to get so clammed up, and it was starting to make Qrow anxious. She started to gnaw on her lip. “You mean you don’t…you know…like…guys?”

The bird-brain was really trying to understand what was going on. “What-” It caught him off guard, probably more than if she’d just punched him when he’d opened the door. “What- no, I mean, no, I like _men_ , Yang, just- uh- not- with Clover.” Oh, yeah, real smooth.

The strange anxiety over her face broke with relief. Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh! Okay, yeah, then…wait, you like men, for sure, right? But then don’t you like Clover?”

Qrow’s face twisted. “How’d this turn into a talk about me?” he asked, sounding wry enough she looked mildly chastised.

“Well, I just figured you’d know about this…kinda stuff.”

It took a minute, but Qrow’s brain finally caught up, and it all clicked. Even if she was…misguided…about Clover, she’d come to him because he knew about liking someone _the same as you_. That’s why she’d looked so- scared, for a moment. Had she actually been afraid he’d judge her? Or reject her? No, Yang knew he loved her, he’d just fucked up with his stupid mouth and made her doubt for a moment. Because he was an idiot.

“Oh, I get it,” he said in a dawning moment of comprehension. “You want to ask out Blake, right?”

Her face exploded in fire. “Maybe,” she replied defensively, folding her arms. “If I did, what would I say?”

Qrow resisted the urge to laugh as his shoulders sagged in relief. “Why don’t you just say what you’re feeling, firecracker? You usually have no problem with that.”

A pout appeared on her face. She reached out to kick him in the shin; he nonchalantly leaned out of the way. “It’s not that easy! I’ve never done this before, I want to be romantic!”

“I dunno if I’m the best person to come to for romance.”

“Yuh-huh,” she retorted childishly. “Didn’t you used to flirt with people all the time?”

“Flirting is different from romance.”

“Well I need _something_.”

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair, out of habit, but it wasn’t an irritated gesture. “Okay, well, what does Blake like?”

Yang wrinkled her nose. “Like, in general?”

“She’s a book nerd, right? What does she like?”

“I mean, she’ll read pretty much anything.”

“I can see you woke up a little obtuse today. Does she like romance books?”

Yang paused and thought for a moment. “Yeah…she always gets embarrassed and hides them under her bed. She writes in those a lot too for some reason.”

“Then she’d probably like something sappy and romantic. You know, those cheesy scenes where the girl gets a dozen roses and they ride off into the sunset. But make it you.”

Yang stroked her chin for a moment. It wasn’t that she wasn’t intelligent, but it wasn’t extremely often where she put so much intense thought into something. It was, in a way, kind of cute, making Qrow smile. She must have really liked that girl.

“Oh, I got it!” Yang exclaimed with a smile, obviously thinking of something and lighting up. “I do need flowers actually!”

“Oh? Then I’ve got a suggestion, she really likes those whatever-you-call-em that glow that grow around here.”

Yang raised an eyebrow at him. “Ice crystal flowers? The ones that grow in snow?”

“Yup.” Qrow folded his arms behind his head and leaned back against his door, glad to see her worrying about something appropriate for her age for once. It was endearing.

He and Blake didn’t really talk much, but when they’d been traveling, sometimes they’d ended up near the same end of camp farther from the other…louder members of their group. Qrow loved the kids, but they sure could be rowdy. He’d seen Blake press some of those flowers in the single book she’d managed to bring with her this far, though her ears always drooped a little when it eventually lost its glow and she had to get a new one.

“Awesome!” Yang jumped up and down just like Ruby did, a grin growing on her face as her hesitancy melted away into enthusiasm. Qrow didn’t know what she wanted to do specifically, but he was sure it would be sufficiently teeth-rotting. She turned and started running down the hall, breaking Winter’s rules for the umpteenth time. “I can’t wait! Thanks Dad!”

She’d already dashed around the corner before Qrow could even react. His heart gave a stutter, it caught him so off guard, and he lowered his arms to sheepishly rub at the side of his neck where Clover’s hand had been not so long ago. She didn’t seem to be aware she’d said it. Or…maybe she was? Qrow didn’t know.

“You’re welcome, kiddo,” he mumbled, completely forgetful of his own predicament. So forgetful, he wound up forgetting to go by the kitchen to return the pin, thereby closing his window of deniability that he’d ever seen it. He’d be cursing himself later, considering no one would believe they’d just looked something over for days.


	3. it takes time

It had occurred to Qrow to try sneaking the pin somewhere where Clover would see it. Perhaps he’d go, ‘Oh, silly me! I am not in fact perfect in everything I do and say and misplaced my pin like other regular human beings!’ Yeah, right. The problem was that his personal room was always locked unless he was in it, there seemed to be rare times the Ace Ops quarters didn’t have at least one of them in it (and Qrow didn’t trust Marrow not to chase him as a bird), and getting caught would be inconvenient.

Which was why when he got caught it was enough to make him want to stab himself a couple of times.

“Well, hello there. Now how did a bird get in here?” Clover asked, with good reason, because there weren’t any windows for several winding hallways and the windows that did exist weren’t exactly opened on a regular basis, being they were in a floating city. The pin was literally inches away behind a cup; Qrow had left it there for less than five seconds to scout around when Clover had seemingly appeared out of nowhere to ruin his life. Goddammit.

“Well, you’re very pretty, but I’m afraid you can’t stay,” Clover said, reaching for him. In a panic, Qrow let out a series of angry squawks and fled, leaving the man with a dumbfounded look on his face.

He slumped over in a supply closet, in human form, groaning into his hand and perked up just a little when he thought maybe Clover would have found the pin, being that it was just sitting behind a mug.

But no, the bastard hadn’t, and Qrow knew he couldn’t keep a straight face if he tried to just hand it back to him.

Which left him back to square one, but it seemed every time he attempted to give it back or leave it somewhere Clover would find his bad luck struck him down tenfold. Why couldn’t the gods have pity on him?

His attention was turned from his dilemma to one of the dormitory kitchens, where he could smell something burning. Grimacing, he pushed open the door and found Ren looking petrified as he stared down at a pan he had ahold of on the stove while Nora ran in circles around the kitchen island.

“Gah, it’s burning, it’s burning! REN DO SOMETHING IT’S BURNING!”

“It said three minutes!” Ren cried, as distressed as Ren himself could sound, looking around for something. Probably a spatula.

Qrow rolled his eyes and came up behind them, before Nora actually tore her hair out, and slipped the pan out of Ren’s hand and off the burner. “What are you two trying to make?”

“Something we found in the freezer,” Ren admitted, sounding embarrassed as his cheeks started to flush. “We weren’t sure if it was sausage or pepperoni…”

Qrow resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He glanced at the unrolled slab of meat sitting on the counter. “Pepperoni is redder, and it burns easily. That’s sausage.”

Nora popped up from behind Ren with her Scroll held unnecessarily high, waving it. “I looked up directions, it said to boil it for three minutes!”

“This. Is not boiling. This is just a frying pan, if you were boiling it it’d be in water in a pot. What were you even- never mind, doesn’t matter. And it’s not burnt, either, this side is just ready. Now you flip it.”

Ren looked extremely pensive and stared at the stovetop, probably to cover his embarrassment, while Qrow flipped the sausages onto a plate they’d set out. There were some…vaguely funky-looking eggs beside them, still steaming, so at least they’d figured that part out. Sure, they could roast something on the campfire, but had anyone ever taught them to cook? They really needed it.

“Don’t touch the hot stove, Nora,” he warned when the girl reached a curious finger to the glowing red spot on the stove. “You’ll burn yourself.”

Ren slapped Nora’s hand away, then straightened when Qrow looked at him. He tried not to snicker.

“By the way, Qrow, could you get some plates down?” Nora asked, sounding sheepish, as she clasped her hands together and smiled. “They’re in that cabinet, and I broke a couple when I tried to use Ren as a ladder.”

“Tried to- ugh…” Feeling a little bit too like Winter, Qrow opened the cabinet behind him and set two down. Either Nora was going to accidentally suffocate Ren in a bear hug someday, or they’d get lost in the wilderness for a month and learn to only eat raw meat. Equally likely.

“Yay! Thanks, Team Dad!” Nora bellowed cheerfully, wrapping him in one of her bone-crushing hugs that nailed his arms to his torso and knocked the breath from his lungs. She let go of him and grabbed one of the plates nearly hard enough to break it. Out of all the people in the world, Nora was probably the only one who had more energy than Ruby.

Wheezing, Qrow pretended he didn’t need to hold onto his ribs and watched her start to pile food onto her plate. “Team Dad?” he felt compelled to ask, though he felt a little mortified after it slipped out of his mouth.

“Well sure!” she said around a mouthful of eggs, making Ren cringe. “You look out for everybody and make sure none of us die! Honorary Team Dad.”

Feeling a little put off by just how fast she was downing all that food, he looked at the only other thing to look at, Ren. The teenager, staring at the table, blinked before shrugging one shoulder. “You are what we might call our only role model right now.”

“I…I’m not sure I’m a role model, kid.”

Nora jerked her head up, slinging eggs over the counter, and Ren winced, gingerly reaching for napkins set in near reach. “Oh, come on! Ruby and Yang have told us how cool you are! Like the time you broke that bar!”

“They weren’t supposed to tell anyone that.”

“But it was _cool_ ,” she whispered reverently, the gleam of fear-inducing chaos in her eye. Qrow almost shivered.

“I think I’m going to eat in my room,” Ren said, picking up his plate. A wise choice, really. He gingerly patted Qrow on the arm, like he was afraid to touch anything too hard. “And, well, everyone makes mistakes, but fixing them sometimes makes you just as admirable as someone who doesn’t make any mistakes.”

Cryptic, and inspiring, because that’s what Ren did, but it did make Qrow feel a little bad that he was the one being. Comforted? Wasn’t he the adult here?

“Thanks Qrow! We’re going to go eat in Ren’s room!” Nora cried, running off. Qrow could hear Ren’s near-silent groan just in the way his shoulders slumped.

* * *

The truth was, Qrow wasn’t all that impressed by the Ace Ops. Now, that didn’t mean he didn’t acknowledge their skill- they were all _impressive_ , but lots of people were impressive. They were highly skilled, but lots of people were highly skilled.

Or used to be.

So, ‘elite team’ may have been accurate, but ‘the best Huntsmen and Huntresses in Remnant’ definitely was not. In his opinion, a title like that took a lot more to earn. He had worked with a lot of Hunters (some who had, after working with him, refused to ever work with him again, but that was an emotional tick for another day) who could match them in skill. Hell, his sister was still out there, Taiyang was still out there, and he hoped that at least some of their old classmates were still out there, so yes, the Ace Ops were skilled, but not ‘the best.’

People made a lot of mistakes when they thought they were the best. Mistakes that got them killed. So Qrow didn’t have any star-eyes when it came to the Ace Ops.

(Well, except for one, but that was a different type of star-eyes.)

Which is why he had such a problem with his kids- the kids, that is- getting goggle-eyed at advertisements.

“Wow,” came a quiet, admiring exclamation from Jaune as he sat cross-legged on the floor of their main training room. He had his Scroll in his lap, which was probably why Ruby had come bolting over to lean over his shoulder to watch what he was on their break. “That’s amazing. You think we’ll ever be as good as them?”

Qrow had only come in to deliver water to his niece, something Yang did as well, because she had a notorious habit of saying “soda counts as water!” He leaned over them and rolled his eyes at the footage advertising Atlas Academy with the Operatives. “Give it a few years, and other people’ll be saying that about you, blondie.”

Jaune jumped as if he’d been caught. “It _does_ say they’re the most elite team in Remnant,” Ruby countered teasingly, smiling up at him as she leaned back away from Jaune and wrapped her arms around her crossed legs. His ability to sneak up on her was lessening by the day. He really needed to brush up on his stealth skills.

Qrow rolled his eyes again. “Oh, yes, the most elite. That’s what every Academy says about their starlight babies. Really rakes in bright-eyed teenagers who want to be the next face on a billboard.”

The sound of crackling lightning alerted him to Harriet’s arrival as she skidded to a stop behind them, one hand cocked on her hip. Ruby had, for about the third but rare time, lost her in the maze they’d been using to train.

“That almost sounds like an insult, Branwen,” she said with a grin, mostly fun-natured, though there was a bit of a bite to it. “How about we have a little one-on-one? That way you can see how elite the Atlas Operatives are.”

“In case you forgot, speedy, I already saw you guys in action. I don’t really need a repeat,” Qrow said as he stretched his arms behind his head, popping his back. God, he was sore.

“Oh, now _you’re_ the one acting like you’re better than us?”

He opened an eye and looked at her. She didn’t look extremely serious about it, but it was still vaguely annoying.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Scroll, clicking through his contacts and letting it project into the air a few feet away from him. She raised a curious eyebrow as he started scrolling through a long list of names, most of them with pictures beside them, but they were all grey.

“See these people? Huntsman and Huntresses, some were from Beacon. Some were even from Atlas. And they’re all dead now.”

It was like he’d dropped a bad-mood bomb on the room. None of them said anything, though Harriet had lost her goading look and just looked somber now.

“And a lot of them were what you might call the best of the best,” Qrow continued with a sigh, closing his Scroll. “And yet Salem got to them all. I wasn’t insulting you, speedy, but letting people think you’re untouchable is gonna break some hearts.”

* * *

Sometimes it got hard. Not drinking. There was a burning in the back of his throat that begged for vodka, cold sweats that kept him up. On these nights his mind kept circling back around to the Apathy Grimm, and how easy it had been to just slump against a bar and not move.

Harriet, having come in from the door behind him, slid a glass across the kitchen bar to him. It wasn’t the Ace Ops kitchen, as he didn’t feel like potentially being caught by one of them moping. Turns out his efforts were in vain.

“That’s some soda mixed with vinegar and salt,” she added helpfully when he raised an eyebrow at her, still wondering why she was up at one in the morning. She had a towel around her neck, though, in light clothes, so she’d probably been working out. “It takes the edge off.”

Frowning, he glanced at it and hesitantly took a sip. It tasted…extremely weird, so weird it distracted him from his craving. “Ugh.”

Snickering, she sat down and span in her stool.

“How’d you know that?” he asked, giving the glass a pondering look. Things had been kind of awkward in the training room earlier. He hadn’t meant to make the atmosphere so dull, but that was what he tended to do.

She came to a stop and leaned on her elbows, putting something in her mouth. it was some sort of cracker treat shaped like a cigar. “Started when I was fourteen. Dunno why, really. Wasn’t really any big reason. I just got sad one day, and then it didn’t stop, you know?” Yeah, he knew. “I had to stop when I got into the Academy. I didn’t have a choice.”

Qrow took another swig and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The taste was stuck in his mouth, and it really didn’t let him think of anything else. “It’s terrible.”

“That’s the point.”

She looked up at the dim television, spinning the wafer in her fingers, like she was expecting something to be playing. “It’s kinda cute how much you care about those kids, ya know? It’s like you’re their dad.” Cringing, Qrow downed the rest of his glass to avoid answering. Nobody was going to let him forget, were they? “You know, you can kinda come off like you’re a jaded asshole at first glance, but jaded assholes don’t care. I guess I kinda admire that.”

“You a jaded asshole in high school?” he grunted, filling his glass instead with water from the pitcher on the counter. All of the kitchens seemed to have those at all times, strangely.

“Oh, you bet. THE most assholish. Accidentally got dumped by my first girlfriend because of it, but that at least taught me a lesson.” She was silent for a moment, staring at the clock on the far wall as it ticked. “There really that many of them gone?”

He sighed.

“Yeah.”

“Damn.”

He looked at his reflection in the water. He looked tired.

“Well, needless to say this may be just a job for me but I still have someone to go home to,” she said in a more cheerful tone as she stood up. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I do. We all will, and I trust the team. Well, most of the team. Marrow needs some work. Sometimes the advertisements just exaggerate, you know?” she said with a wink, teasing him. He smirked and rolled his eyes as she walked away towards the hall that led towards her quarters.

She slapped a hand on the door frame and leaned back to look at him. “Oh, yeah. Clover was right, ya know? They’re lucky to have you.” She had on a sharp-looking grin that told him she knew exactly what she was doing while he sat there frozen, like an imp. “We can’t all treat them like kids, or they won’t grow. But they need someone to.”

She gave him a jaunty salute and walked off whistling, leaving him there to simmer. Clover had to have been talking about him outside that conversation they’d had for Harriet to know what he’d said. He had to have been _complimenting_ him to other people. That bastard.

Maybe he should leave that clover pin hanging on a string outside the window in Clover’s room that didn’t open for safety regulations. That’d show him.


	4. reverse side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s. this happens in the background of chapter 3 of glad to say when clover gets hurt, qrow's pov so you don't get confused!

Qrow felt like a piece of shit, to put it mildly.

To put it even more mildly, he hadn't taken it well when Clover had been hospitalized. Not well at all. If "practically yelled at him and told him to fuck himself before storming out" could be described as "not well."

He groaned, putting his head into his hands. He sat on a bench somewhere near the medical wing, where he'd stormed out of. He had no idea what part of the building he was in; some hall by a glass wall to an indoor garden. His brain felt like a migraine was coming on. His mouth felt dry. Gods, he could use a drink right now.

That was a bad thought.

"Qrow?"

 _Oh, great,_ he thought, wryly, as he reluctantly looked up at Oscar. The boy was standing there with that doe-eyed expression he always wore when he didn't know how to handle something. It was oddly reminiscent of Ruby.

"Oh," he replied, "hey."

"You look upset," Oscar noted, tone hesitant but also oddly mild, and his bluntness reminded Qrow so much of Ozpin he hated it a little bit. But Oscar wasn't Ozpin. Ozpin had checked out and left them to deal with his shit by themselves. Ozpin did it on purpose; with Oscar it seemed like he just had no filter except for when he realized he had no filter and looked incredibly embarrassed. "Is this about, uh...what happened to Clover?"

Apparently the expression on Qrow's face spoke for itself. The boy winced and slowly came over to sit down beside him. "I figured...the nurses were gossiping..." Of course they were. Even though that was _'against_ _protocol_.' "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Qrow mumbled, returning his face to his hands. He definitely didn't need to be unloading all his issues onto a- how old was Oscar again? Fourteen? Fifteen? He looked like he was twelve, to be honest. But Qrow was pretty sure it was fourteen. "Clover's too reckless."

"I gathered." Somehow it seemed sarcastic even with the "I'm trying to be gentle" tone Oscar was using. "Guess it sucks to be on this side of it, huh?"

He let out a weak little chuckle, probably hoping he didn't annoy Qrow, and Qrow winced. That was the crux of it, wasn't it? Clover could probably wax poetic about how Qrow shouldn't put himself in unnecessary danger, and take his own safety more importantly, so when it seemed he wasn't taking his own seriously, Qrow had just snapped. It was hypocritical, that was the reason why. Atlas hypocrisy. (It wasn't because Qrow cared about him- no.) What really pissed him off about Clover was that being around the man made Qrow want to be better, and he couldn't do that if the guy got himself killed, and he was the first real friend Qrow had felt like he'd had in a long time, and where did he get off brushing off his safety if Qrow couldn't do that anymore?

"I...I think you should go talk to him," Oscar, then his voice rose a lilt in anxiousness when Qrow's shoulders tensed, which also made him feel bad, especially after his very awkward _Uh, sorry I punched you_ a few weeks ago after the Ozpin incident, "Later!"

"Yeah," he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "I guess I should."

Oscar was quiet for a moment. It wasn't like Ozpin's silences. Ozpin's were always a little bit judgmental until whoever he was talking to came to the conclusion on his own. Oscar felt like he was working something over in his head.

"It's okay to care about someone," he finally said, in a tiny, quiet voice, making Qrow pause. "And it's okay if they care about you too."

Qrow's throat felt like someone had dropped a lump into it. Here he was, getting advice from a fourteen-year-old. He really should stop doing that. "I know," he muttered, gruffer than usual, clearing his throat as he looked up at where Atlas personnel were passing by the hall. "But I'm not-"

"You're just as good a person as anyone," Oscar insisted, his louder tone startling the older man into silence. "I know that. You try your best. You've done your best to protect us all-"

Qrow's voice was mildly choked. "With mixed results."

"When Hazel was trying to kill me," Oscar said pointedly, "when you grabbed me, you were protecting me, not Ozpin. I think we've all been through enough, and we'll probably be through...more. Don't make it worse for yourself!"

Qrow, finally, looked over at him, and he swallowed audibly and shrank back just a little. He still wasn't all that confident. Another difference from Oz.

The tail-end of a laugh escaped him as a breath, and he let out a chuckle, reaching over to ruffle the boy's hair. He winced, because he didn't want his hair messed up, not because he was afraid of Qrow, and looked a little bit sour. "All right, pipsqueak, all right. You can stop trying to cheer me up now."

Friend advice from a fourteen-year-old, he was dangerously close to getting dating advice from a fourteen-year-old. "So you'll go talk to him?" the boy asked, like a little pest, under his hand. "Later?"

"Yeah, I will. Later. I think I'll have some self-reflection time now."

"Ozpin said that was your code for drinking time."

"Well now it's code for fly into a tree and ignore everyone around me time."

"...is that a cue for me to leave?"

"Not unless you can fly into a tree."

* * *

"Uncle Qrow!"

Qrow cringed from his tree in one of the variety of indoor gardens in the Atlas Academy.

"Uncle Qrow, I know you're up there!"

He didn't know how, the tree he'd picked had thick branches and enough leaves to conceal him. Maybe Ruby's silver eyes gave her better eyesight too. It made it easier to harass her uncle with.

"Uncle Qrow, I'm coming up there!" she yelled in a threatening tone that carried the exact same energy as "I'm about to super-charge myself into a giant cannon and no one can stop me." Grimacing, Qrow jumped out of the tree with a relenting squawk and swooped down to where she stood in the grass, shifting back and landing on his feet next to her.

"Hi, Uncle Qrow!" she beamed up at him, smiling like there wasn't a thing wrong in the world. 

"Don't hi Uncle Qrow me, pipsqueak. I was trying to have self-reflection time."

"That's just code for when you want to sulk alone somewhere," she retorted, with just as much sass as her mother would have, and Qrow wondered despairingly when so many children had become so comfortable taking him as seriously as a slinky attached to a wind chime. "Did you go see Clover yet?"

"...Technically, I did."

A pout appeared on her face. It was kind of cute, in the way a growling chihuahua was cute. "I mean AFTER you yelled at him," she corrected.

Qrow scowled. How twisted was that story becoming? "I didn't yell at him!" he insisted. She quirked a judgmental eyebrow at him and folded her arms. She was more like Ozpin than Oscar at this point. "I used the f-bomb, okay? That's all."

He felt ridiculous for saying 'f-bomb,' but Ruby didn't allow him to swear around her. _She_ had said fuck once in a fight when she thought he couldn't hear her, then just smiled and said she had actually said _Fudgy_ when Qrow pointed it out to her later, and he knew she'd been making fun of him because she hadn't even said _Fudge_ but instead a word that clearly couldn't be mistaken for fuck in the first place.

"Well, that's _like_ yelling at someone," Ruby went on, and there was never any arguing with her weird, weird logics in these conversations. "But you're going to go apologize?"

"Yes. I am."

"Yay! I sent him flowers."

"That's just great."

"Are you going now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Self-reflection time."

"Uncle Qrow!"

"He's probably asleep, pipsqueak! He got stabbed in the gut!"

"Well make sure you go soon, or I'll come find you again!"

"Ruby..."

"You can't blame me for being persistent!" she half-yelled, waving her arms around. It was more out of enthusiasm rather than her being particularly upset, even if her face was morphing into a variety of expressions while she went on and on. "I can't remember the last time you had a friend-" Which made him feel a little pathetic. "-And not one as good as Uncle Clover, but you're not very good at apologizing and you always used to just go get drunk and avoid your problems so even if you don't get _drunk_ anymore you still avoid your problems and you definitely can't stop being friends with Clover, because you guys are such good friends, you're like best friends! And you can even fight well with him because of his Semblance and I can see how happy that makes you and you're definitely really happy when you're around him, and Daddy you're so stupid I can't even start to tell you if you want to keep friends you've definitely got to go apologize when you do something stupid! Especially if you really _like like_ Clover like you do you know? So go apologize later, okay? It'll all work out fine if you do!"

She patted him on the shoulder like a dog that had done real good and swooshed away in a burst of red flower petals and left him standing there staring into space looking vaguely dead-eyed. Ruby...was a lot to take in on the best of days when she got excited. Or upset. Or passionate. One time when she was four she'd broken a vase by accident and bawled loud enough to wake Yang up from a nap and refused to stop crying even while Taiyang reassured her over and over that it was all right, she hadn't done anything wrong, it was just a vase, it could be replaced, it wasn't even that expensive, _please stop crying before your mother gets home._

In her early days she'd occasionally called Qrow dad and daddy by mistake. By mistake. She loved him and Taiyang, just...got them mixed up. Even if they looked nothing alike. Summer though it was hilarious. She'd often gotten them to take pictures together because Ruby looked more like him and Yang more like Taiyang and they 'looked like a couple of dads with bags under their eyes,' which Qrow had taken much offense to, because 'I have better taste than Taiyang.' (That was all for show. They all knew Taiyang was a catch.)

But what really struck a chord was the phrase Ruby had uttered without realizing- _Uncle Clover-_ that made something warm flutter in his chest. That felt...right. Good, somehow. Too right and good to hope for.

He resigned himself to going to apologize and left the garden without anymore 'self-reflection' time. Clover was indeed asleep when he got back to the medical wing (and passed Elm on the way, who for some reason, just looked at him with amusement), but Qrow let himself linger in the doorway for just a minute, looking at the man's peaceful face- free from any professionalism or responsibility or pretense- as he slept. It was nice, just to see him there looking relaxed and still breathing.

He'd come back later. There was time. He'd let the man sleep, even if it meant getting harassed by Ruby again at some point in the day.


	5. let's go to the mall, kids!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> takes place after ch. 6 of glad to say !

Qrow had been trekking across the cafeteria, not particularly hungry, but having seen the Ace Ops lounging around at their usual table, and he'd figured he'd go sit down an inappropriately unprofessional distance from Clover as usual when he had nothing else to do and was bored when it hit him. "It" being Ruby.

Something metal, probably a lunch tray, went clattering somewhere as he was bowled over and hit the floor. They slid at least four feet, and Qrow hadn't even heard the scream first, he just had a loud, endless, " _UNCLE_ _QROOOOOOOOOOW~_!" ringing in his ears as he stared at the ceiling.

Someone coughed. "Ah, damn," he heard Elm say, sounding sympathetic. "Total knockout!"

"Hi Uncle Qrow," Ruby chirped, and yes, Clover had definitely let her have coffee again at some point that day, because he hadn't yet reaped the punishments himself. Qrow added that onto the list of things he needed to get revenge for in addition to the man's ridiculous wielding of shirtlessness as a weapon.

"Hey, kiddo," Qrow groaned, letting the arm not holding onto her flop lifelessly onto the cold floor. He had long learned it was better to accept his fate. One time Summer had accidentally blasted into him with her Semblance hard enough to send them both across Beacon's cafeteria, which inadvertently led to a food fight getting started. "What's up?"

She giggled. It was that particular laugh she always did when she wanted something. "We don't have a mission today, so we want you to come help us with something! Come on, come on, get up already!"

She was tugging at his arm with some mild amount of success, and it reminded him of when she'd been little and always tried to drag him off the couch to do something fun all on her own. He grinned, not putting much effort into getting up. "How do you know I don't have plans?"

Yang appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his other arm, tugging much harder than Ruby could, which also reminded him of when they'd been children and Ruby inevitably yelled for her sister's help. "Aw, come on, you're never too busy for your favorite nieces!" she grunted, nearly yanking him off the floor.

"Who says you're my only nieces?"

"Er...are we going to have to help?" came a question from Blake, who stood off to the side with a furrowed brow. Beside her, hands planted on her hips, Weiss huffed.

"Apparently!"

"Stop being childish, Qrow, this is important!" the Schnee cried as she shoved at his back with Blake, completely unaware of how childish they were all looking right now.

"All right, all right!" he relented, standing on his own and brushing himself off. Immediately, Ruby attached herself to his arm, smiling innocently. "Where are we going?"

"This way!" Yang cheered, intentionally vague, as she grabbed his wrist and held it in the air like she'd won a boxing match and then started dragging him off. They passed Brann, who arched a disapproving eyebrow at their behavior, and Qrow pointedly ignored her for it.

The clicking of Weiss' heels and Ruby's humming were the only sounds in the hall as they led him to a charter ship that made trips down to Mantle. "Don't worry, we made sure to tell Ironwood we're going to Mantle this time!" Ruby chirped, though Qrow didn't know if that was trustworthy or not. 'Telling Ironwood' could have been anything from actually messaging the man or taping a piece of paper to his door. "We're gonna have so much fun!"

She was bouncing up and down while she walked, somehow, and they got onto the transport. She plopped down onto a seat still glued to his side and the other three filed in beside him. A few other personnel and students were there, too, but it wasn't packed. "And I ask again, where are we going?"

"To get our ears pierced!"

Qrow's eyebrow rocketed up. "Aaaaand did you ask your father?" he asked, half warily and half teasingly, because even though Ruby was old enough to make her own decisions now he didn't completely know if Taiyang would be entirely happy with her punching holes in her ears at that current point in time. It wasn't the biggest thing, but the man was a continent away worrying every day.

Her eyes shined with innocence he knew was faked as she looked up at him. "No, but you're here! That's as good as!"

 _It's a trick, it's a trick, it's a dirty trick,_ Qrow's brain told him.

"And what about you three?" he asked, turning and giving his raised eyebrow to the others. They technically may have been adults, but they still looked sheepish when he looked at them. "You all decided randomly at the same time?"

Yang laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, it was Ruby who brought it up-"

"I want pierced ears like yours!"

"-And I thought it would look pretty cool, and I've thought about doing it before too! And I told Blake she'd probably look really pretty with some of those sparkly ones-"

"I just think it would look nice," Blake mumbled, bright pink.

"And I refuse to be left behind," Weiss said, crossing her arms haughtily. "If you're all getting them, so am I!" Qrow snorted, amused.

"And YOU'VE got pierced ears so obviously you're the best person to ask!" Ruby finished, throwing her arms in the air like they'd won a prize.

Rolling his eyes, Qrow relaxed back into his seat and put his hands into his pockets. "And we're going to Mantle because?"

"Uh..." Yang rubbed her cheek, looking a little embarrassed. "There's no mall in Atlas?"

"Oh, firecracker, you do _not_ want to go to a mall."

* * *

"First rule is no hoops or anything that dangles," Qrow said as the girls looked at the example earrings set into a case with shining eyes. "They get caught on things in a fight, and trust me, you don't want one to get ripped out of your ear." Weiss' nose crinkled, and Blake cringed a little. "So it's studs or small rods. It'll hurt least in the earlobe, but if you really want one somewhere else, I think you can all take the pain by now. But you won't be able to take it out for a few weeks or else the holes will close up, and they still could later down the line if you let them. And don't forget that after every battle you have to disinfect it as soon as you get back to base."

"I want ones like yours!" Ruby said, eyes shining as she pressed her face to the glass and looked at all the choices. Qrow had silver, red and black studs in each ear in varying places, some of them particularly shiny because they were clusters, a tiny silver hoop hugging part of the inside of his right ear, and one spike in his left ear.

"How about we start with a red and black one? It may give your father a heart attack if he sees you on video and you suddenly have as many as I do."

That made the girl giggle. Qrow waved down the receptionist, fairly certain they'd have enough time to get everyone done. With how things had been going in Mantle, business wasn't the busiest.

Surprisingly, Yang chose a black pair in the shape of hearts. He thought it was a weird choice, and that she would have gone for something more flashy, but it made sense when Blake returned to the sitting area with a flush to her face and golden clusters in her ears, one arm rubbing the other as she asked Yang how it looked. Qrow just about snickered at the awkward laugh his niece did before waving her hands back and forth and insisting it looked amazing.

Weiss returned with silver studs that looked like flowers, which he was sure was chosen to compliment her entire aesthetic of literal ice. Her ears looked more irritated than the others, but that was to be expected. She seemed a bit self-conscious about it as she looked at Yang's and Blake's and rubbed at her earlobe.

"Don't worry about it, princess," he said, clapping her on the shoulder. "It's natural. Mine got infected the first time I got pierced."

Her nose wrinkled up. "That sounds unpleasant."

"Fortunately it didn't last long."

While he was there, he figured he might as well get his eyebrow pierced just to mess with Clover. He got three studs put in above his left eye- silver, green, silver. It was the only green thing on him. He knew the man was going to notice.

"Uncle Qrow, what are you grinning at?" Ruby asked, sounding wary of the mischievous grin that had suddenly appeared on his face.

"Nothing, lil petal, nothing at all."

They were still sitting in the lobby, while Weiss, last in line, was talking to the piercing artist and getting aftercare instructions, when his scroll vibrated. Curious, Qrow lifted it and raised an eyebrow when he saw it was Ironwood. Come on, they _had_ informed him this time.

"Sup, James?" he asked as he raised it to his ear.

Ruby was peering into a hand mirror they'd given her and giggling occasionally as she turned her head from side to side to look at her earrings. Qrow got up and strolled towards the door, passing another patron on his way outside and leaning against the glass of the window.

"I'm not mad at you," James took the time to explain, which was frankly very funny, and Qrow could just see him pinching his nose as he tried to be patient. "But the note your nieces sent me said you'd be going to a mall down in Mantle, and your Scroll says you're on the other side of town, and I just thought I'd ask why."

Qrow didn't know if it was flattering that James took the time to look after them or creepy that he'd noticed so quickly. So maybe Qrow had turned the tracking his Scroll on, and so maybe it was so Clover could find him if he needed to. There wasn't much to joke about right now, though, and he decided just being honest would work. "Oh, yeah, sorry. They said they'd told you where we were going but we had a change of plans and it didn't occur to me it'd look odd."

A gentle sigh came from the line. It sounded a bit relieved. "Well, that's fine. Though I may ask, why exactly were you going to a mall? Not that you can't, but your team hasn't done much like that just for fun. Where else did you go?"

"Oh, yeah. Malls are fucking filthy so I took them to a tat parlor."

It sounded like someone started choking on the other line. Qrow knew Ironwood often multi-tasked, talking on a line while typing away at his computer and only needing it to be private if it was private information, so he was probably on speaker in his office. Nice.

"Why are you at a _tattoo parlor?_ " James parroted, sounding exasperated.

"Because I wanted to get a dick piercing," Qrow said dully, making the voice in the background let out another angsty growl. Ah, that was probably Winter. Now _that_ was fucking funny. "What do you think, Jimbo? They wanted their ears pierced! They're adults now, they can do it if they want. I tagged along to make sure they didn't get something dumb like a giant hoop that someone would rip out."

Another sigh. "All right, that's fair," James replied, which felt like kind of a victory. Ruby wasn't technically an adult, but she was Qrow's niece, not James', so he couldn't really argue. Besides, if they let the girls fight Grimm but not get a few pieces of jewelry stuck in their ears it would have surpassed ridiculous. "I'm waiting for the day you can relay any information in a tactful manner."

"It'll never come."

"I know."

"You know, maybe we _should_ get tattoos too. How about a giant Griffon? You think that'd be cool?"

"Qrow, please. At the very least do not let anyone _else_ make any unfortunate decisions that are permanent for life."

"But that's my specialty!"

"Goodbye, Qrow," Ironwood said in an even duller tone than Qrow had used, then hung up. Laughing, Qrow put away his Scroll and turned to walk back into the shop, looking around for the girls when he found they weren't where he'd left them. In fact, they were at the wall where a bunch of tattoo designs were hung up now, oohing and ahhing.

"I want a dragon," Yang practically shouted, eyes on fire. "One on fire!"

"Okay, everyone, let's get going," Qrow drawled, rolling his eyes. Speak of the devil and may it appear. "We don't have time for any tattoos today. You can come back later."

He turned and gestured for them to follow him. "Awwww," a pair of voices whined, which was predictably only Ruby and Yang. He heard Blake giggle, however, so at least he wasn't the only one who found it funny.

They were barely half a block down the street when Weiss tapped his arm. He stopped and turned, in an immediate sort of way that made her flush a little at getting his attention so easily (fuck you, Jacques), and she turned to point across the road.

"We may not have time for any...tattooing," she said, with a mildly wry look no doubt aimed at a grinning Yang. "But maybe we can look at some jewelry?"

He followed her gaze to the jewelry store across the street and inwardly cursed. His mouth didn't even listen to his brain. The store itself looked like _pure shininess._ "Sure, why not?"

His _one weakness_.

And that was how Qrow spent the better part of his morning getting drawn into trying on every type of bauble he could think of. It was also why he came back to the base with three more bracelets clinking around his wrists, another ring, and a black metal choker he bought purely because he knew it would make Clover look at his neck, along with an empty wallet and every girl in his gaggle holding a bag while they giggled. _Goddammit_.


	6. you and i

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> takes places after ch9 of glad to say

Giving the kids (well, they mostly weren't kids anymore now- Yang was almost _twenty,_ holy shit, how had so much time passed?- but they'd always be kids to Qrow) ice-skating lessons was always...interesting.

It had taken several lessons, but Ruby had finally gotten the hang of gliding around. She lacked some of the natural grace Summer had possessed right off the bat, but after she got over her initial...excitable-ness, and started to focus on learning, a talent similar to her mother's started to shine through; just like when she had started to learn how to use a scythe.

Weiss was always more than happy to find a random room to freeze for them to use. Of course Yang wanted to come along when she found out what they were doing, which meant Blake came too, and the first time Qrow tried to coach them he had quite a bit of trouble controlling himself as he tried not to laugh. Yang kept trying to blast around, going too fast, yelling and flailing, leaving Blake to keep having to catch her and go "Go _slower_ , Yang," in that concerned and chastising voice that sounded exactly like the one Summer used for Tai. The girl was a natural, probably due to the precision and grace her own fighting style required. She was gliding as easily as Ruby, who had dragged Oscar into their ordeal and was holding his hands as he went very, very slowly on shaking legs and looked as anxious as a turtle about to be run over.

JNR had, inevitably, joined in too, which meant Qrow was responsible for the most chaotic round of babysitting ever as all three of them struggled to not fall down or collide with somebody else. Ren was better on his feet, too, predictably, but it was still obviously very new to him.

"AhhhHHH!" Nora screeched as she sailed past, somehow getting louder as she slammed into the wall and bounced off it. Qrow winced, but wasn't worried; she was one of the more sturdier ones of the bunch, after all.

She did, however, trip Blake up as she went, and Qrow reached out to catch the girl before she fell over. Sometimes she was so quiet, Qrow almost didn't notice she was there. "Easy there, tiger."

He patted her on the head as soon as he let go of her arm, out of habit, and her cheeks tinted pink as her ears flicked down. He'd learn to tell the ear movements apart by now, though, and it definitely wasn't a "get away from me" signal. She did the same thing when Yang complimented her, usually. "Thank you, Qrow. Sorry, I almost ran into you."

"It happens. Ah." He caught a glance of Yang flailing as she tried to imitate her little sister across the room, feet moving wobbily. "Looks like your duckling's about to fall over again."

Her ears perked up and he could have sworn he heard her groan. "Yang!" she called, pushing off and aiming for the blonde. "I told you not to move!"

Weiss went sailing past Ren in front of him. As graceful as a swan, she weaved in between the revived Nora and Jaune, who had the exact same expression as Oscar did as he tried not to fall over. "Honestly," she huffed. "You all make it impossible to practice!" She looked way too happy for the complaining to be in earnest.

Snickering, Qrow glided over to Jaune, who was the only one who hadn't even managed to move yet. The blond was taller than him, now. That shouldn't have been allowed. "Hey, blondie. Having trouble?"

"Uh, just a little," the young man admitted, cheeks going red.

"It's easier to start along the wall first." Amused, Qrow grabbed ahold of his arm with both hands and slowly guided them closer to the doorway. "Just keep one hand on it, and work on figuring out how to walk without falling down. You will eventually, everyone does, but I'm sure with how braced you are it won't hurt that much."

Jaune's face heated further. He looked so ready for a blow that his Aura was probably active. He nodded along to Qrow's words and started to hug the wall, moving at a snail's pace. Well, baby steps.

"Yang, _please_ don't try jumping," Blake's begging voice floated across the room.

"I think I can land it!"

"No, you can't, you'll crack your head open."

"I bet _I_ can," Nora's voice roared, sounding challenged, and Qrow groaned.

"No jumping!"

But he was too late, because a moment later there was a spectacular crash. He felt a full-body cringe take over him.

Nora's groaning echoed through the room. He turned and found her laying on the ground- or ice, to be exact- looking dizzy as Ren stood there with his face in his hands.

Ruby glided past him, still guiding Oscar, who looked horrified. "This feels dangerous," he warbled, but the girl just laughed.

"Aw, c'mon, it's fun! Even when you fall down!"

"That doesn't make me feel better...and actually makes me question how much sugar you've had today."

* * *

There were two out of the bunch that Qrow practiced with privately. Ruby, because she wanted so badly to learn like her mother, and Weiss, because the girl was actually learned in it. It was amazing, how much knowledge and nostalgia came rushing back into his head after so long. He found himself using language he hadn't heard in years and probably sounding like a stuffy Atlesian as he lectured her on which feet to push off on for the different types of jumps, how to avoid getting dizzy, how to come down if her partner was throwing her. They practiced a bit themselves, because he didn't quite trust anyone else to catch her correctly.

It was funny, how much of himself he recognized in her despite just how different they were. The girl practically preened at all the extra attention, always having to hide her own smiles when he didn't brush her off, and she performed greatly with praise and encouragement instead of harsh criticism and insults.

Yeah, Qrow hated her father.

Their sparring sessions were usually later in the night, where they could practice without worrying about having to leave for a mission and work on extending her stamina. He'd decided to forego using their usual weapons tonight and teach her how to use the knife he'd given her (and all the other kids) better. She actually got a slice in on him, and he couldn't help but chuckle as they sat on the training room's bench and he wrapped a bandage around it. It was shallow enough it would probably heal by the next morning.

"Sorry about that," she said, sounding sheepish as she fiddled with her dagger on the other end of the bench, clicking it in and out of the hilt. He didn't think she realized she was doing it.

"It's fine, princess. Wouldn't be very good training if we weren't going at it, would it?"

"I suppose not." She stared at the far wall and smiled, then looked down at the dagger and bit her lip. "Um...thank you for sparring with me, Qrow...I...appreciate it."

He couldn't resist the urge to reach over and pat her head. "Like I said, it's fine. I know how it feels, princess. You and I, we're kind of alike." She glanced up at him with a curiosity in her eyes. He let out a sigh. "It's hard having an older sister who casts a long shadow, isn't it?"

She looked surprised, then bit into her lip again and looked away. Right on the money.

"We may have gotten pretty famous," Qrow said, feeling a rush of nostalgia as he thought about older days, "but at the beginning, I was the worst on my team."

" _You?_ The _worst_?"

"Yep. Which may have been better than other people's best, I _did_ get into Beacon, after all, but compared to the other three, I had the least stamina, the weaker Aura, the most unpolished technique. The bad luck didn't help either. It took me a lot of work to be able to feel like I could stand beside them as an equal. And Raven, well, she always picked up everything quick. We were twins, but she was the older one, the smarter one, the strong one. Then when I did feel like I'd caught up, we were like a package deal. The Branwen twins, unstoppable, a great team. It was like I couldn't get anyone to look at me, without her."

Weiss' head dipped as she stared at the floor. She'd stopped her fiddling, though she was still holding onto the knife like it was a comforting thing.

"And then she left," Qrow continued, feeling something in his own voice reflect the hollowness he felt appear. "She left other people more important than me, but I didn't understand. Why she left me too. I know Winter may be a lot to live up to, princess, but one thing I know for sure is that she's proud of you. She never left you, even if she left that hellish house of yours. I can tell just by looking at her that she's gotten to where she is _for_ you. She loves you. Don't you ever forget that."

The girl was trying so hard not to let her lip wobble. They were all trying so hard to be adults, even though they should have only been worrying about crushes and waiting for when they could legally go to a club. "Thank you," she said, in a tiny voice. "I hope I'm something to be proud of."

Qrow reached over and wrapped his arms around her. She sunk into him, resting her head against his chest. "You are. You can give me a run for my money, kiddo. You're probably going to turn out better than all of us. When they tell stories about us someday, make sure you say I go out in a blaze of glory, and not by getting brained by Ruby in the cafeteria."

He said that in a lighter tone, and succeeded in getting her to chuckle quietly. She pulled away as she stood up, wiping at her face, and put her knife back into place on the strap around her hip. "I won't tell anyone that part. But you better not go out at all, or I'll be _so_ cross with you."

Qrow held up his hands. "Talk about that with Ruby, not me."

She jolted in surprise out of nowhere. "Crap," she said, looking worried. "I told Ruby I would teach her how to play chess tonight."

Well, that sounded like torture. Qrow turned and called after her as she ran out the open door. "Dollar in the swear jar. And don't play around Ironwood!"

" _I_ _know!"_ she called back with some amount of sass, then she was gone.

Chuckling, Qrow got up and walked towards the door where the lights in the hallway were shining into the mostly-dim training room. Fighting in the dark was a useful skill, he'd insisted, and it made it easier to fight in the daylight.

He paused a few feet from the door when he felt a presence behind him. He turned, and raised an eyebrow; Weiss hadn't noticed in her hurry to leave, but Winter was just at the edge of the doorway, looking like she'd paused mid-step with her face turned away from him.

"Ice queen?"

"My apologies," she said, sounding stiff. "I... I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Her own voice shook a little, and she reached up to grab the hilt of her sword, like it was a comfort to her. Some things ran in the family, he guessed. "...thank you, Qrow."

Awkwardly, he shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. "It's no problem. Don't worry about it."

He went to leave, but she made him pause again. "Qrow."

"Yeah?"

"I...want to apologize." She turned to face him, though her eyes were still contemplatively on the floor. "I believe I misjudged you at a time." He opened his mouth, but she cut him off before he could say anything. "And don't interrupt me, I know you don't care about apologies! I'm not going to repeat myself. But...I think it's admirable. Your resolve to better yourself. Even if you are incorrigible sometimes, we're better for having you."

"...oh," Qrow muttered, honestly surprised. "...thanks, Winter."

She stiffened, then nodded, slowly. He had to inwardly make fun of how awkward they both were, trying to talk honestly and not just dig at each other.

"Your sister..." she said, trailing off, like she wasn't sure if it was appropriate to go on, "is the Spring Maiden, correct?"

Qrow felt the old wound burn in his gut again. Raven...was such a complicated topic. "Yeah."

He looked away and gritted his teeth. Raven was always the first one to bring up how family only came around when they needed something, he thought, but she had sure thrown them under the bus when she needed something. "But we aren't family anymore."

Maybe it was the bitterness in his voice, or maybe it was the hurt lying underneath that made the woman step closer under the low lights and lay a hesitant hand on his shoulder. He tensed because he was startled, but it didn't bother him, surprisingly.

"I'm...sorry."

"Yeah," he said, vaguely hearing that his voice sounded choked now. Here he was being comforted by Winter of all people when he'd just been comforting her little sister a few moments ago. What was it with him and the Schnees? "Me too."

He pulled away and cleared his throat to give them both an excuse to break the weird little moment. "Anyway, I got dragged into pitting my brats against Beta team tomorrow, ice queen. You should come watch."

She chuckled, a little less reserved than usual, and let a small smile onto her face as she straightened and resumed her formal posture. "I'll make time in my schedule."

"Good. Maybe I'll beat up Reolin for revenge," he said wryly, and the fact she was still smiling made him feel something was a little different. A few years back she probably would have chastised him, but she seemed to get that he was joking now. "You should tell her more."

"What?"

He answered the quizzical eyebrow sent his direction with a shrug. "That you're proud. It helps a lot more than you'd think."

Her face softened, just a little bit. He knew that she already knew that, but sometimes a little reminder helped.

* * *

At the next day's sparring match, Qrow felt his ears burning. He knew Weiss had put in some gear changes, but he hadn't been aware of what they were. Her new costume was obviously emulating Winter a little, but it was also emulating _him_ , and he just knew team RWBY was giggling about it. She had gotten rid of the white skirt in exchange for pants that were more practical, and that blue coat she had was swapped out for a _cape blazer._ She had on longer gloves to make up for the lack of sleeves, and though it kept with her color scheme- white on the outside, blue on the underside- it tapered down to her knees and then became tattered. It was _obviously_ made that way just like his and Ruby's.

Blake had gotten a new coat too. It was black, with tattered edges, and she had on a white vest underneath for added warmth over her turtleneck.

He just put his face into his hands as they stood around him in the training room giggling under their breath. Yang was the only one he could trust now.


	7. moving on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/53943668  
> https://pakchoys.tumblr.com/post/616231207146045440/self-indulgent-qrow-hours
> 
> so i saw these qrow designs and was super obsessed w/both, so i decided to base qrow's new cape on a mixture of these!

Qrow happened upon Jaune sitting on a bench in front of the glass of one of the indoor gardens, the lights having dimmed enough the young man's face was illuminated by the video playing on his Scroll. Qrow wasn't trying to hide, but he was naturally quiet too, and it took him strolling up and almost getting near enough to the bench for the boy to notice him. He jumped, like he'd been caught doing something illegal, and quickly put his Scroll away.

"O-oh, Qrow! What're you doing awake?"

"I could ask the same," Qrow replied, a little bit of teasing in his voice. Flushing, Jaune looked at the floor while rubbing the back of his neck. Tai did the same thing sometimes. "Had some late night training. Couldn't sleep?"

"Er, yeah...something like that."

It was a little bit sad, sometimes, how Jaune reminded him of Tai. It wasn't just because they were both tall and broad, or blond, or kind; it was how Jaune's shoulders still hung sometimes, and he sat around at night watching an old video of someone who wasn't there anymore.

Tai had shut down after Summer disappeared. Qrow had spent three days at the Xiao Long house, sleeping on the couch, alternating between trying to keep the girls fed and awkwardly avoiding their questions about why "Daddy wouldn't come out of his room." And Tai had come out, because his instincts as a father forced him, but his face had looked so hollow and his eyes very empty when he smiled for a long time. It was almost like the period of time after Raven left, leaving him with nothing and a baby to take care of, and Qrow had spent an exhausting amount of nights waking up to crying and switching off with his would-be brother-in-law learning how to change diapers and burp an infant.

It was the look in their eyes that was the same. That was what bothered Qrow.

"You watching that video you have of her?" he asked, trying to keep his voice soft enough not to sting. Jaune winced, anyway, but nodded. "That's fine, kid. You know, Tai still has videos of Ruby's mom back at the house. Sometimes we'd get them out and watch them. But...don't get stuck there. It's hard, worse than pictures, because it makes it feel like they're still there."

Jaune sounded like he was trying not to cry. "I don't want to forget her."

"I know. You shouldn't. But...don't let a memory hold you back," Qrow said, because he had plenty of experience with doing that. He reached over and gave Jaune's shoulder a gentle knock with his fist, making his tone a tad lighter. "You know, seems like she liked you a bit, from what Yang's told me. She'd _want_ you to be happy."

A shaky smile fluttered onto the boy's face. "I just can't get over that I never even got a chance."

A ragged sigh shook Qrow's form. He turned to look at the garden, and the gentle glow of the moon illuminated the flowers and other plants within from the overhead window, and set his elbows on his knees. "There's going to be a lot of missed chances in life. Like I said, it's fine to remember, but a chance will come someday, and you'll see it when it's there. Don't let yourself miss out. _She_ would want that more than anything."

Jaune chuckled, a sound that felt like he was trying to sound strong, even if it warbled. "That's...that's true, I guess...she always put everybody else before herself."

They sat there in silence for a bit, and Qrow sat there until he felt like the boy was fine on his own, even though he was tired as hell and wanted to curl up under the (now counting) eight blankets he'd stolen for his quarters. Eventually, Jaune's sniffling stopped, and he let out a more genuine laugh. "Though that's kind of ironic coming from you."

"Huh?"

Jaune turned and cast him a shy grin. "She was pretty much perfect," he said, sounding nostalgic. "She took care of her squad, she was the best of the best...we thought she was untouchable. And she had the prettiest green eyes. But I missed my chance. Neither of us should miss anymore chances, right?"

Qrow blinked owlishly. He felt like he was the one being given advice now, which always seemed to happen with these kids (they were growing up too fast), and it hit him like a freight train what Jaune meant. He felt his face heat up.

"We can all kinda see that you like the Captain," Jaune laughed, sounding a little sheepish. "Don't you think you shouldn't let yourself miss out?"

Qrow sat there for a moment feeling a rush of embarrassment. "Yeah," he muttered, rubbing his neck. "Guess I shouldn't."

He was kind of a hypocrite, wasn't he?

For the first time in a while, Qrow didn't want to miss the chance he had.

* * *

The next day he watched team RWBY gallivant around in their upgraded equipment with a groan. He'd had to put in a request for a new cape himself, as his was getting pretty raggedy after he'd torn off part of it (that Clover was _still wearing_ around his arm), and his new one was black near the top and faded into a deep red. It was longer, reaching his knees, but still tattered at the edges; it still hung easily off his shoulders too, but it was bunched together with more fabric, so he could pull it around himself if he wanted. It was fucking cold in Atlas, all right? It had a hood as well. It was reversible, so the color scheme was flipped on the inside. Even Ruby had gotten a new cape that was suspiciously similar to his. Of course, she always based her gear to some extent off his, that was just what she _did,_ but in conjunction with practically her entire team it made his ears burn.

He walked into the observation deck and decided to focus on something other than ramming his head into a wall to get rid of the embarrassment. ( _It was so fucking cute. Goddammit, he had to take pictures for Tai now. He **had** to_.) Chiefly, what Jaune had made him realize the night before.

This was the largest training room, so the observation room above was spacious and relaxed, with three different tables each having a sofa and two chairs around them. Fortunately, team Beta was at the end, and a few members of Charlie and Delta (even _they'd_ started trying to talk to him, the bastards, why did people think he was going to switch teams or something?) were at the table in the middle. Elm and Vine sat in the chairs closest to him, and Clover was sitting in the middle of the couch, like a naive idiot.

Perfect. Qrow strolled over and waved when Elm spotted him and started grinning. "Qrow! New cape is looking good!" She gave him a thumbs-up, and he let a small smile out.

"Thanks, elm tree. Did you get earrings?"

"I sure did!" She shoved her own hair up unnecessarily far to show off her ears and cackled. "I saw them sparkling and thought, why not? They were so pretty!" Across from her, Vine rolled his eyes, but it was a fond thing.

"I'm going to spread it to everyone, like a virus," he said as he sat down, swiftly leaning back against the arm of the sofa and folding his arms behind his head, laying his legs out over Clover's lap. The man jumped like he'd electrocuted him, and Qrow opened one eye with a cheeky smile. "Your fault for sitting in the middle, shamrock."

Clover gave him an amused, tolerant look, with a certain spark in his eyes. He'd definitely noticed Qrow still had his red cloth tied around one knee.

Winter passed by behind the couch and rolled her eyes. "You're incorrigible, Qrow. I feel sorry for you, Captain."

"You're just jealous you can't lay down wherever you want, ice queen," Qrow yelled at her, and he could have sworn he heard her snort before getting control of herself and sitting down at the middle sitting area. He looked back at Clover and grinned like a shark. The other man's eyebrow shot up, and he almost looked a little wary. Qrow knew the feeling well. It was the "What's he going to come up with this time?" feeling.

He pointed to where his shirt and vest were unbuttoned, teasing in his voice, because Clover had been so taken off guard by his entrance he hadn't noticed yet. "Like my new piercing?"

And yes, he had gone for an early morning trip to a piercing parlor in Atlas out of pure impulse and a lack of self control and gotten a navel piercing. It was a silver bar with a small green gem on one end and a four-leaf clover on the other that matched the piercing in his eyebrow. It would probably be hilarious to get a tattoo there, he thought. There wasn't much hair to obstruct it. (Not that he'd never had hair there; he and Summer both had actually had quite a bit on their stomachs in general once upon a time, but they'd gotten a little...overzealous with waxing for the beach in their graduation year when they'd gone a bit crazy with celebrating with team travel trips for a whole year and it hadn't really grown back the same ever since. And that was why he turned the channel when waxing commercials came on every time they'd watched TV with his nieces.)

Clover stared at it for several prolonged moments, and Qrow felt his body go tense under his legs. Then his eyes flickered back up to meet his, a few shades darker.

"Yes, Qrow," he said, voice much lower than usual. "I quite like that."

His grin got bigger. He closed his eyes, pretending to lounge unbothered, and heard Elm snicker.

More people filing in caught the attention of the other Ace Ops. Qrow felt Clover's hand settle on his knee, the one with his bandana on it. It held a certain tension as it tightened on his leg.

He opened an eye. Clover was still staring at him, not smiling, but certainly not frowning either, with a certain intensity.

_Oh yeah, those are bedroom eyes._

Qrow had a nagging feeling, if they had been alone, with no one else in the room, Clover's hand would have started to climb its way up his thigh. But instead both of their attention was drawn to the scoreboard being activated, which meant the matches were about to start for team training. It made Clover release him and Qrow swing his legs to get up, because his team was up first- as a wry Winter announced as she controlled the scores from her Scroll and let out a loud "Well, our first match of the day will be team Beta versus team RWBY, as they seem to have issued a challenge." She didn't specify who 'they' was.

Qrow didn't doubt he'd just started their final game of chicken. He wondered which one would flinch first.

* * *

"So, what's the full story here?" Qrow asked dryly once he'd made it to the training room floor, as Yang warmed up with some light punches to the air behind him and Weiss did some upper body stretches.

"Well, we were in the cafeteria," Ruby told him, bouncing on the balls of her feet, "and Yang ran into that guy with the staff, and he got really mad about it, so she told him-"

"It's just a tray of shitty soup, bub, calm down," Yang mimicked on cue.

"And then Blake said-"

"I tried to apologize, but he was rather rude," Blake cut in, fiddling with something in a pouch on her belt.

"So then _I_ said if it bothered him that much he must be a giant p-" Yang started, snapping her mouth shut when Ruby glared at her. "Puuuuuuuushover, and he said we should settle it on the training room floor, and I said I was busy with my team, so he said I should just bring my whole team along, so we could see real Atlas Elites, trademark, in action, and here we are!"

Qrow sighed. "Sounds like you take after me, firecracker."

"I know, right?" Yang said with a beam. "I'm great at pissing people off!"

Blake gave her a dry stare. It wasn't completely annoyed, however, and had a note of fondness in it. Yang laughed and rubbed the back of her head; it so badly reminded him of Summer and Tai.

"Hey, first match is up!" Reolin called from the other end of the ring. Brann was standing in the ring in the center, looking annoyed at their continued chatter. "Would you hurry it up?"

"Well, who are we sending first?" Qrow asked, just to make them wait a little more, and held in a chuckle when he heard Claire sigh.

"I vote Yang!" Ruby exclaimed before anyone else, smiling brightly.

"I think that's a good choice," Weiss agreed.

Yang glanced over at Blake. "Of course, I think you'd win," the girl said, flushing lightly. Yang's smile got bigger.

Qrow waved his hand as if he didn't care about it one way or another, which was purely for Beta's benefit. "Yang it is, then!"

"B-by the way, Qrow," Blake said, eyes darting around awkwardly, and he raised an eyebrow. She'd probably been working up to it if now was the time she said something. She pulled a long pair of black gloves out of her pouch. "I know you're always saying how cold it is here...I'm the same way, being a cat Faunus, so I'm always a little cold, especially at night..."

"Not anymore though, since we-" Yang began.

She yelped and shut up when Weiss kicked her in the shin. Flushing further, Blake went on.

"I figured these might come in handy, since they wouldn't get in the way of your rings..."

She held the gloves out to him. They were fingerless, like the ones she wore. That was undoubtedly intentional.

"Thanks, tiger," he said, patting her on the head. "Here, Ruby, hold my rings."

His niece let out an enthusiastic noise like it was a joy just to hold onto them for him for a moment. Sometimes, he wondered if she was a little too attached, in the comedic way.

He took his time taking each ring off and setting them into her open palms. "Gooood," Reolin groaned in the background.

"I'll go ahead and start!" Yang said cheerfully, running off towards the ring.

"Good luck," Weiss called, sounding like she didn't even mean it, not looking at the blonde as she waved.

The match started in the background. The sound of gunfire immediately filled the room. It wasn't like Brann was a pushover- she was an operative for a reason- but it was kind of cruel to let an energy-filled, caffeine-driven, just-awoken Yang loose on her first thing. Yang's style was also quite suited to countering Brann's, as she excelled in close combat.

The girls ignored the match behind them and watched him pull the gloves on. They came up almost to his elbow, and they were thicker there, so they would definitely help with the warmth. They wrapped around his middle finger on each hand but the fabric there was thinner as well to not impede his rings. And the palms had leather grips, too. That would make wielding Harbinger easier in the cold.

Then he started putting his rings back on, one by one, and nearly snickered when Reolin called over to them. "Are you not worried about this match at all?"

Qrow waved at him without looking. "It's Yang, it's fine."

"Yang's a natural victor," Weiss said with a sniff.

Blake threaded her hands together, and looked to the side to hide a smile. Qrow grinned and patted her on the head again.

There was a loud bang, and Brann came flying out of bounds to smack into the wall. She looked mildly ruffled, with her hair starting to come out of her ponytail, and wore a scowl on her face. The most wounded thing was probably her pride.

"Point awarded to team RWBY," Winter's voice echoed through the sound system, sounding, if Qrow was hearing quite, a little amused.

He chuckled. "Who wants to go next?"

* * *

They went in several turns. Ruby got into a speed fight with Indigo, and came out on top by forcing her out of the ring, and at least the women took it like a good sport and complimented the younger Huntress on her speed. Claire was the weakest link in team Beta, and lost her matches with Weiss and Blake rather easily, and she smiled, but it looked fake. Brann also faced off against Blake, but went charging in too quickly, and instead of being blown away by Yang's explosive style, was taken off guard by Blake's stealthier and more elegant one. Reolin apparently thought he'd be able to beat Weiss easily enough, but she was far quicker with her blade now than he realized, parrying all his blows.

To his credit, he did manage to knock her sword away at one point, but the girl had come quite far in her training with Qrow, and was much less afraid to get up and close and personal now. She yanked out her knife and countered Reolin's staff with it, using his surprise to kick him in the gut hard enough to knock the air out of him and then going for his eyes. She wouldn't have actually sliced them, of course, but he still raised a hand to reflexively block it, flinching, and she kicked him out of the ring.

It was all very amusing. Qrow leaned against the wall by the door with a grin, feeling a sense of pride running through him. His girls really were grown up now, surpassing others twice their age. They didn't even really need him, now, but he appreciated that they made him feel like they did.

Reolin was still looking like he was about to start twitching, seething where he was sitting and letting his Aura heal a few bruises, and Qrow couldn't help but let out a snicker as he strolled in the direction of the ring. He didn't doubt his niece's capabilities, but as it stood Ruby would fight either the ego-wounded man or Russet, who hadn't fought yet, and Qrow would rather keep them to himself. "You okay there, buddy?"

Reolin glanced up at him and began to glare. "I'm just fine. Nice gloves there, Branwen. They come in men's?"

Qrow's grin became downright predatory. People just walked themselves into these things, didn't they? "I come in enough men for all of us, don't worry."

Reolin's face convulsed. The team started wheezing as they tried to hold in their laughter where they'd gathered by the door, and, oops, he meant not to make 'vulgar' comments like that around them, but, well, they were getting older.

"That's disgusting," the man spat at him.

"Really?" Qrow cocked a quizzical eyebrow at him, then raised his gloved hand- and it did feel very warm, thank you very much- to slowly gesture at himself from head to toe. "What, exactly, about me, looks... _heterosexual_?"

"Nothing!" Yang yelled out from the door, hands cupped around her mouth. "We're all gay!"

The girls devolved into shrieking laughter, leaning on and grasping at each other, and he almost lost it himself at how offended Beta looked. Because they were being so _unprofessional_.

" _That's_ our secret," Ruby whispered, like she'd made a discovery as to how they were winning, which made them struggle harder to be quiet.

"I think that's quite enough," Russet interrupted them all as he strode forward, wearing a stern look with his arms folded. It didn't do much to faze Qrow. "Why don't you and I finish this session off, Branwen?"

"Sure. It's been a while since I beat up someone from Atlas."

"Don't be so confident," Russet said with a scowl, drawing his sword. "I may wipe that smile off your face."

That was really the crux of the man's personality, Qrow thought. He was professional and proper and could be polite but underneath he was really quite bitter. Probably an inferiority complex. "Ooh, talk _dirty_ to me," he said, taking out Harbinger and giving it a few experimental twirls as they started to circle each other.

"Stop being flippant and take this seriously," the other man barked.

Qrow blocked a blow from the man's sword with the broad side of his own. "Who says I'm not?"

"You spar with Ebi all the time. We all know what you being serious looks like. Treat this no differently," Russet gritted out, looking frustrated that he couldn't push Qrow back. The other Huntsman was smaller, but Harbinger's weight was too much to win against with brute strength.

"Nah, shamrock's way different," Qrow said with another lackadaisical wave of his hand, on purpose, as he swiped the man's sword away and gave him a swing.

Russet came at him with a flurried rush. His strikes were fast, but Qrow avoided or blocked them easily enough. All right, so he had a bit of a grudge, because he'd heard him earlier yet again complaining that Clover was only chosen to be Alpha Captain because of his Semblance. At this point it was almost more annoying than people being wary of him because of his misfortune.

Qrow knocked him back with enough force to send them both sliding across the ring lines. Clearly, they didn't care about the boundary in their match. "How so?" Russet asked, sounding sour as he stalked around the room looking for an opening on him.

Qrow smirked at him. "He's a lot easier on the eyes, for one."

Russet's eyebrow twitched a little. He rushed in again, and Qrow whirled around and set Harbinger behind him to block the man's blade. It was an unconventional move for a swordsman like Russet, and he knew it would probably only egg the man on, Qrow turning his back on him.

He whirled around and started to actually take the fight a measure more seriously, going after the Beta leader with a series of hard strikes that left him going wide-eyed and rushing to dodge.

"Yeah! Get him, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby hooted enthusiastically.

Yang was a little more crass. "Kick his ass!"

"Dollar in the swear jar!"

"Show him what a true Huntsman looks like, Qrow!"

And okay, their continued cheering both made Qrow feel cockier and the whole thing funnier.

Their blades slid against each other and produced tiny metal sparks as Russet blocked one of his swings, glaring into his face with a certain fire in his eyes. "I don't understand," he said, obviously frustrated, "you're a famous Huntsman, you have a mission record more impressive than most of the operatives in this facility, you're talked about like a _legend_ among even the higher-ups, and you're like _this_?"

"Like what?" Qrow retorted, releasing the force he'd been pressing forward with and using the momentum to throw the man to the side. "Not like you?"

Russet caught himself and turned to glare at him, eyes stormy. "Y'know, this is why I usually don't like Atlesians," Qrow snorted. "Because you all act like yours is the only way to act."

The operative rushed at him. He got in one lucky shot that wouldn't have been very lucky if Qrow hadn't let it happen. Harbinger went flying with enough force to embed itself in the wall, and Qrow refrained from rolling his eyes at the triumphant look that crossed Russet's face for a moment.

He reared back and punched the man in the nose with all his strength. He let out a startled nose and stumbled back, as if not expecting him to actually hit him. Qrow hit him again, flipping over a swing of his sword, and kicked him with enough force to send him flying across the room.

He came to a skidding stop and steadied himself with his sword, then looked up and glared at him, teeth gritted. He watched him like he was expecting Qrow to pull something else out of his metaphorical hat as he strolled lazily over to Harbinger. Instead of grabbing it, he folded his arms and leaned against the side of it, raising an eyebrow. "Well? You coming?"

Growling, the man leapt up and rushed at him. When he was near enough, Qrow snorted, and then he was crouched on the top of Harbinger's blade, balanced perfectly with his hands on the handle. Russet's sword slammed uselessly into the wall.

"That all you got?"

The man let out an irritated yell and swung at him. Qrow clicked the handle and let the force from Harbinger shifting rip it out of the wall, feeling a sense of deja vu to his fight with Tyrian.

He flipped in the air and landed on his feet. "That's your problem," he drawled, blocking another one of the man's strikes without much effort. "Maybe you'd be better if you were paying more attention to yourself rather than other people."

Russet's eyes widened a fraction. He scowled again shortly after, and Qrow shrugged to himself. He wasn't going to expend any time on trying to get through the man's thick skull; if he didn't want his advice, he wasn't going to listen. Despite his cocky little show he was putting on- okay, he did want to show off- he meant what he said. The fact that Winter hadn't chastised him over the speakers yet told him she'd realized this was a lesson Beta team needed to learn too.

He decided to finish things off and shifted his sword into its scythe form without any warning. With a complicated swing that left the man wondering where he was aiming, he took out Russet's feet, then blasted him across the room with enough force to put a crack in the wall. It shattered his Aura, and left him sitting there coughing.

"Match over," Winter's voice echoed. "Qrow wins, and team RWBY wins overall."

The girls started to cheer, rushing over to pounce on him and yell in his ear, and he smiled down at them even while he kept one eye on Russet scowling on the ground while his team members gathered around him. He looked bitter, like he'd realized that Qrow had truly just been toying with him the whole time. That bitterness- the jealousy- it would never help him- any of them- do better. Qrow knew better than anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jaune: yeah my hunter with perfect skills and an impeccable record and green eyes died before we got to date, you should take your chance  
> qrow: oh right shit  
> (you can't convince me pyrrha and clover wouldn't relate to each other if they'd gotten the chance 😭 )


	8. what glimmers like (steel)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i decided to move completely over to part 3 to keep things as least confusing as possible, so for anyone following this series this one is finished and i started part 3! for the last chapter i decided to make it penny-centric since she hasn't shown up yet. not set in any particular place in this timeline.

Ren was always the quiet one. That didn't mean he never spoke (Qrow had caught quite a few of his sighs, groans, and beleaguered "Nora!"'s) but he usually faded into the background and let the other kids do most of the talking or take up the spotlight when something important happened. Jaune and Ruby were the team leaders, after all.

But, that didn't mean Qrow didn't pay attention to him. He was like Weiss, in a way. Even if Jaune was still lagging behind in terms of polished skill, Ren was always the one who got knocked out first, he'd noticed, and the young man always kept his frustrations under wraps (which wasn't a great idea, as they were going to explode at some point).

He came along the other Huntsman (and wasn't that weird, thinking of him as a full grown Huntsman now?) after he'd apparently had a private training session, as he sat on a bench in one of the smaller rooms panting and staring down at his quaking hands with frustration. Even when he was alone he was trying to mask it, but Qrow was pretty good at recognizing self loathing. He was pretty much the champion of it, actually.

"What's up, pinky?" he asked, a joke in and of itself, because really, Nora was the one he should be calling pinky, but "lightning bolt" or "thunderstorm" worked much better.

Ren startled and glanced up at him. He must have been really lost in his thoughts, or else he would have noticed Qrow strolling. "Nothing. I was just training."

Qrow hummed as he sat down. "Didn't go well, I take it?"

"What? Oh, no, I mean-" Ren looked away and folded his hands, frowning. "Why do you think it didn't go well?"

"Because you look like you want to strangle a nevermore with your bare hands?"

A rare flush rose up the boy's neck. "I'm just frustrated," he admitted with a shrug, phrasing it like it wasn't a big deal. "I'm usually the one to go down first, if you haven't noticed."

That was a silly notion, because Qrow noticed pretty much everything going on on the battlefield; bird's eye view and all that.

"Lemme guess," he said, stretching his arms, and let out a yawn. "You're frustrated because you can't be a heavy-hitter like Nora, or get as hands-on as her or Jaune, or versatile enough like Pyrrha was to stay at long range but still be able to wrangle up close and personal, you don't have as much stamina as either of them, and you feel like you're dragging them down?"

Ren winced. That was a lot for him; it was like Qrow had punched him in the face. Sympathetic, he reached over and patted the boy on the shoulder. "Hey, I wasn't just listing off your faults for no reason. Everybody's got them. Believe it or not, I was pretty much the same in school." A sense of deja vu washed over him seeing as he'd had this same conversation with Weiss. Ren eyed him disbelievingly. "Think about it. I came from a bandit tribe, so I knew how to fight dirty, but there were tons of other students with traditional training who could knock me on my ass. Out of my team, I had the least stamina, the weakest aura, and I usually got clocked first too. Sound familiar?"

The flush spread to Ren's cheekbones. He looked down, twiddling his thumbs, something Qrow was sure he'd picked up from Nora. "Oh. I see you...do understand, then."

Qrow let go of him and sighed again. Someone else really needed to take over giving inspirational speeches for one day. "It doesn't mean you're a bad Huntsman. If you want to get better at fighting in the thick of it, that's one thing, and improving your stamina is always good, but some people just aren't _meant_ to be heavy-hitters like Nora or Yang."

"But I-"

"Need to support your team, I know. But _you've_ got skills neither of them have," Qrow pointed out, making a furrow appear in the other's brow. "What'd Nora say at the festival, something like 'we've got a ninja'? Stealth is really overlooked these days, kiddo. Being able to take people by surprise, sneak up on the enemy- do you think _Nora_ is real good at sneaking?"

Finally, Ren cracked and let a small smile onto his face. "Not particularly, no."

"Exactly. A great Hunter team is balanced. If nobody on it can engage in stealth, they have a weakness. Stop trying to _be_ your team and focus on supporting them instead. Jaune and Nora have plenty of weaknesses as well- they both rush in way too fast sometimes, and having someone who hangs back and keeps an eye on things could save their life. Don't drag on yourself so much."

He got up and stretched his back, sighing. Ren was still smiling, and he glanced at Qrow before looking at his weapons laying at his feet and nodding. "...thank you, Qrow. I think that helped me."

"My going rate is seven lien an hour," Qrow called back to him as he walked out the door to the training room. "I take checks and card!"

He didn't hear the boy laugh, but he swore the mood of the room was lighter as he left.

He was only a few feet down the hall when something _hard_ collided with him straight in the gut. He wheezed, almost tripping, but it was so unmovable he could only set a hand down for balance and yank himself in the other direction unless he wanted to topple head-first over it. To his surprise, the cheery green eyes of Penny stared up at him.

"Hello, Mr. Ruby's uncle!" she beamed, giving him a blinding smile. "I apologize for running into you! It was my fault for not exercising proper caution in the hallways!"

"Ugh, it's...fine, kid," he said, rubbing at his ribs as he righted himself and removed his hand from her shoulder. Surprisingly, she was warm, not cold like he would have expected from steel. He supposed she must have had an internal heating system. "And also, call me Qrow, not...mister Ruby's uncle. Where were you rushing off to?"

"Oh, Ruby invited me to one of her game nights! It sounded very exciting!" Her smile never wavered, nor did her cheeriness; it was almost like biting into a piece of chocolate with so much sugar it made one's teeth sting. "I usually do not play any games, so I told her I would come! Shhh, though," she said, putting a finger to her lips and giggling. "It's a secret."

Qrow cocked an eyebrow. She and Ruby had been ironed together at the hip (hah, iron) whenever they were together nowadays; he'd seen the hyperactive robot blowing through the halls more than once, talked to her a few times. They simply hadn't gotten the chance to have a one-on-one conversation or anything of the sort. "Why's that?"

"Weeeell..." She folded her arms together behind her back and kicked her heel a few times, looking sheepish. "General Ironwood says I shouldn't waste my time on silly things like that...but I wanted to spend more time with Ruby, so..."

Qrow's hackles immediately raised. "Oh really? Old Jimbo told you you can't have fun like all the other teenagers in this base?"

"Well, not exactly! He just said I have more important things to think about. And I do, really! I monitor Mantle for danger, I train with my father, he runs a lot of tests to make sure I am functioning properly...but one game night won't hurt! I made sure there were especially low readings of Grimm on our radars before heading over."

Qrow felt like slapping a hand to his forehead. Sighing, he patted her head, making her blink up at him. It was an instinctual response by now. "Whatever, kiddo. Go have fun, and if anyone gives you any shit for it-"

"I believe that means you owe money to the swear jar!"

"-just tell me about it. Now shoo, go do something fun for a chance."

She smiled up at him. "Got it!" she yelled, saluting in a snappy way that felt less professional and more way too enthusiastic. Then she was running down the hall again, practically bouncing.

Qrow stared after her for a minute, wondering at how alive the girl looked- and she was alive, wasn't she? She wasn't just some robot like the ones Atlas had walking around.

Ruby had been...devastated when they thought she'd died.

Oh well, it had been a while since he'd hassled James.

* * *

To his pleasure, old Ironwood still had a swinging door on his office instead of a sliding one. That meant he could kick it open with as much dramatic fanfare as he wanted, just like the good old days.

James was at his desk, Winter beside him, and Brann and Russet were in there reporting, but since when did Qrow care about bothering Beta team? "Hey dickhole," he half-yelled, like he usually did when he was drunk, hands in his pockets as he walked in, a little hunched over. "I got a bone to pick with you."

Winter just put a hand over her eyes. Maybe it was a sign of how much they'd evolved now that she wasn't immediately yelling at him. Brann looked so insulted that she could probably give the entire military a run for their money.

"Branwen," Russet began, in that 'I'm a team leader and I know better than you' tone, "this is highly unprofessional-"

"Shut it, soldier boy," Qrow interrupted, making his way over to the desk and kicking the chair in front of it so he could stand there. It was just a roller chair, probably something Winter had been sitting in while they did paperwork or some shit, and it rolled harmlessly off to the side; he didn't actually want to break anything.

A deep, ragged sigh left James' form. He pinched his nose before motioning at the members of Beta team. "You can send the rest of the details in your report. Dismissed."

They left, but Qrow could feel them shooting dirty looks at his back as they did. As soon as the door was shut, James looked up at him with a wry expression as Winter's eyebrow twitched. "To what do I owe this lovely visit, Qrow?"

"Penny," Qrow replied bluntly.

The crease in the general's forehead crinkled further. "Is there a problem with her?"

"Yeah, the problem is _you_ ," Qrow barked, gaze drifting to the cup on James' desk that held all his pens. Shiny, shiny steel pens. "She told me you told her not to have any fucking _fun_."

"What?" To his credit, the man looked surprised, and Winter just watched them with a frown of her own. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I caught her sneaking to a game night with my girls because she feels like she can't do anything fun, or be a teenage girl, or in her words, 'General Ironwood says I shouldn't waste my time on silly things like that,' so what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Some small amount of understanding crossed James' face. "That isn't what I said," he began, then frowned and backtracked. "At least, that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you say?"

"She asked me if it would be appropriate to spend time down in Mantle with your team on her off hours, which I took to mean going on outings like yours the other day," James went on. "And I told her she was allowed, obviously, she isn't a prisoner here, but to do so with moderation, not to go overboard, because she has responsibilities she must pay attention without wasting time on sillier things-"

Qrow realized what had happened and actually did slap a hand to his face. He groaned. "You know, James," he said, "for a headmaster, you're really fucking dumb when it comes to kids."

That was a cue for Winter to snap at him, but instead, they were both still frowning at him in curiosity. He removed his hand and scowled. "She's a teenage girl, Jim. She's going to misunderstand you and take the furthest extreme unless you're fucking _clear_ about it. Didn't you hear what I just said? That's what she took from that conversation!"

The frown on the general's face deepened as he glanced down at his desk. He'd steepled his hands together, like he always did when he was lost in thought. "That's...not what I meant."

"Impact over intention," Qrow parroted from the old therapist Summer had amicably bullied him into seeing for about six months once. "When you're the adult in the room, you're supposed to be the one who says what they mean. Do you really think that? That she can't have any fun, and she should spend every millisecond of her time working like she's any other of your little robot puppets with no feelings?"

James' head jerked up. "No!" he exclaimed, looking surprised. "I don't-"

"Because if you had," Qrow interrupted him, "it was really fucking cruel to have your team build a teenage girl, and not some regular old soldier that didn't care about having friends."

It was rare to feel like he'd popped a balloon and taken all James' steam out of him. He slumped over just a little, expression falling a bit as he stared at his desk, tapping each thumb against each other.

"I didn't intend for that. Being the protector of Mantle was something Penny wanted to take on, and I didn't want her to be focused elsewhere and feel the guilt of not being there should something happen."

Qrow stared at him for a prolonged moment and sighed, his own steam disappearing. He rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, and you know what'll make something like that happen and draw more Grimm here everyday? This fuckin' embargo of yours."

"Qrow-"

"One girl can't protect the entire city. I know she wants to, but _you're_ the one who's responsible for protecting everyone, and you can't let her feel all that responsibility by herself. She's a real person. She's a teenager. Let her feel like one. I know you meant well, Jim," he said, raising a finger to point at his old friend. "But if I ever see her getting treated like a bot that can be turned off and on, you and I are going to have problems. Big ones."

He turned around and stormed back towards the door. It was probably a little too ballsy, threatening James like he used to when he wasn't literally living here and taking missions from the man, but he couldn't help it when one of his kids was involved. Yeah, she was one of his now, because if no one else was looking out for her, Qrow would.

He paused with a hand on the doorway, sighing deeply, a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Summer's telling him that since he'd just given a lecture on being clear he should walk the walk. "Look, James," he said, sounding incredibly tired as he glanced over at them, "just...be honest with her. Talk to her like she isn't a soldier from Delta or something every once in a while. You've got a whole Academy full of kids who admire you, but almost none of them feel like they can say a word to you without being nervous. I mean, fuck, Oscar tried to ask you to train with him the other day and you didn't even notice-"

James looked alarmed. "What?"

"-they may be Hunters, or Hunters in training, but they're still kids, so just _remember_ that, okay? Trust me. I'm an expert on destroying every relationship you have," Qrow said, with no small amount of bitterness in his voice, before slipping out the door. He heard James call his name one more time, but didn't think they had anything left to talk about, so he kept walking, hands in his pockets.

* * *

Qrow almost brained- or got brained by, really- Yang coming around a corner. She stopped short of annihilating him and grinned, a package under her arm. "Hey Uncle Qrow!"

"Hey, firecracker. What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Looking surprised he'd asked, for some reason, she lifted it up and peeled part of the paper it was wrapped in back. Some kind of bright-colored box greeted him. "There's a bakery right here in the base! I didn't even know!"

"What? Where the fuck?"

"On the other side of the Academy, by the teachers' lounge! They've even got a coffee place in there, but I only wanted cupcakes," the girl giggled, poking at her face like Taiyang did when the topic of sweets came up. "I bought enough for everyone at game night! Do you wanna come? Do ya? Do ya?"

Clearly Yang had ingested a _little_ coffee no matter what she said if she was this excited. Rolling his eyes, Qrow shrugged. "Sure, kiddo. Lead the way."

She cheered and grabbed his hand, taking off down the hall at an excited pace he almost had to run to match. He recognized the Academy walls as it shifted from the military's base to the school, and for a moment wondered why she'd been coming from the other direction if the bakery was on the other end. The Academy itself was more friendly-feeling, at least, especially the dorms. There were bulletin boards scattered about with various posters and fliers pinned to them, full of inside jokes he didn't understand and even drawings and shit. It was surprising for an Atlesian school, but almost kind of endearing.

Yang abruptly stopped, and he almost rammed into her, before they rounded a corner. She turned with a sheepish smile. "Oh, yeah, uh...can you...give me your opinion on something?"

"Sure, firecracker."

Qrow quirked an eyebrow as she started a convoluted shuffling of the box of cupcakes in her arms to get to something in her pouch, a long red velvet box he knew must have been from a jewelry shop. He grinned and folded his arms. "That for a certain someone?"

Her face exploded in flames. "Shuddup, Unc'Qrow," she mumbled as she continued fiddling, then finally got the box open in one palm while keeping the pastries safe. Inside, was a pair of rings- silver with little flowers engraved into them, and what looked like writing on the inside- and a purple necklace in the shape of a star.

"It's, um, it's- uh-" Yang let out an anxious laugh, eyes darting around the hallway. "They're, um, promise rings?" Qrow's eyebrow climbed higher. "B-because I, uh...want to stay with Blake...forever...but I know it's not exactly a, uh, great time to get married now, and we should probably wait a while anyway, I mean, we're only nineteen- and I saw this necklace and it matches that one I have, so-"

Qrow interrupted her with a laugh, patting her on the head. It was criminal how tall she'd gotten under his nose. "I think that's a great idea, kiddo."

Her eyes lit up. "Really? You think she'll like them?"

"It's Blake; I think she'd like any jewelry, but I think she'll love this, since you thought so hard on it."

Yang's usual confident grin returned. "Yes!" she exclaimed, pumping her hand into the air and nearly dropping the box altogether. "Oh shit!"

Qrow had to laugh. It reminded him of the time Taiyang had pulled him aside to show him Summer's engagement ring and also almost dropped it. "Easy there, kid. Don't get so excited you psych yourself out."

"Did Dad do that?"

"Multiple times. Now let's hurry up and get going, I'm hungry and I can already smell those things from here."

* * *

Even though Oscar wasn't really on JNR's team, per se, whenever he was around the addition had become "JNOR" at Yang's request; she explained that they made "Junior," and started laughing so hard about it no one could get anything more out of her about why it was so funny. Honestly, that day Qrow had been concerned she'd vomit on the carpet she'd laughed so long. Both RWBY and JNOR had crunched themselves into a larger common room for students, with a large television and a few different game consoles (who knew Atlasien students were allowed to have fun) taking various places on the couches inside or on the floor. They'd all lit up like it was Christmastime when Yang showed up with cupcakes, however, swarming the table she set the box on, and Qrow's eye caught on Penny standing by a sofa where Ruby had been sitting and watching them curiously.

Using his height to his advantage, he leaned over Blake and Weiss and snatched one with green icing from the box. "Cheater, Unnle Row!" Ruby yelled teasingly through a mouthful of cupcake, making him roll his eyes as he walked over to the android.

"Here, blasty, don't be shy."

She blinked at him with wide, round eyes that had too much innocence in them, then looked at the cupcake. "Oh, I don't require human food."

"What do you usually eat?"

"Oh, nothing! I run off electrical power."

Qrow withheld a grimace. He was just glad she hadn't said she drank gasoline. "Well, you can, right?"

"Oh, yes, I actually love food! I just thought I'd leave it for everyone else..."

"Don't be silly." He ruffled her hair again, making a weird expression cross her face- she probably didn't get why he did it- and set the cupcake into one of her hands. "More than enough to go around. Munch down."

"'Munch down,'" she repeated, and all right, it was kind of cute. He walked around her to take a seat on the couch, leaving room beside him because he knew Ruby would want the end, and nearly jumped out of his skin when she let out a loud "AHH! That is delicious indeed! What was this called?"

"Cupcake," he coughed out, giving his chest a pat.

"Marvelous!" Beaming, she devoured the whole thing- even the wrapper, terrifyingly enough, which he hadn't gotten the chance to warn her about- and turned to smile at him. "I liked that quite a bit! Thank you!"

"No problem, red. Anything you ever want to try, just ask; I already feed most of these gremlins, not much more trouble adding one more."

"We aren't gremlins!" Yang yelled as she crashed into the couch on his right, kicking her feet up on the coffee table. "You love us, just admit it."

"Never, gremlin," Qrow said with exaggerated force, picking up a controller. "Now let me beat you at this game for the thousandth time."

"It's not been a thousand times!" someone yelled, probably Ruby.

Having all nine of them in one room turned out to be an entirely overwhelming and loud experience. Probably even worse than trying to teach them ice skating. At one point he noticed Penny was still standing ramrod straight behind the couch, watching the screen with a bright expression, but she hadn't moved, so he gave Yang a hip-check that sent her sailing and landing in Weiss' lap with a laugh and patted the space beside him. "Come on, red, you haven't had a turn yet."

"Yeah! Beat his ass, Penny!"

"Money in the swear jar."

" _Beat him, Penny!_ "

That was when the evening descended into pure chaos. He was pretty sure a table got blown up somewhere in the middle of it, but what James didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

* * *

Whenever Ruby ~~stalked~~ followed him around base now, it appeared he'd gotten a second shadow. Ever since he'd called up Pietro and gotten the girl her own titanium red spikes for her ears, then bought her the entire cake she'd spent five minutes staring at and almost drooling over in the student bakery, then told Ruby to invite her to all their gaming sessions, then made a point to check over her arm when part of her sleeve had gotten blown off in a battle (it really did look just like human flesh, even if it felt solid), Penny had started to hang around more. She usually hung back, chirping along to whatever Ruby was talking about, but she'd clearly taken a shine to him, acting kind of like his students back at Signal. They always grinned at him when they thought he wasn't looking and put apples in the drawers of his desk because they were more healthy than whiskey.

"Oh crap," Ruby said as she stared down at her Scroll one day, in the middle of walking across a ramp over a large indoor garden below that was technically part of the hallway leading to the mission room from one part of the base, "I totally forgot I told Yang and Blake I'd go into the sewer with them for their mission! I'll be back!" she squeaked, then disappeared in a flurry of red that blew Qrow's hair back.

Coughing at the dust it kicked up, he turned to look at the girl he knew was still there, waving it away from his face. "Just you and me, I guess, red."

She jumped like he'd hit her with a shock baton in one of the training rooms. "Oh! It appears so," she said with a friendly smile, then her eyes started to drift around the room. "By the way, um, I just wanted to thank you, Mr. Ruby's uncle-"

Qrow slapped a hand to his face, groaning. "Please, you can just call me Qrow-"

"Y-you've been very nice to me for the last few days!" she exclaimed, and he caught her iron smile waver just a little and something like...anxiousness show through. "I was just wondering, um..." She started poking her fingers together, so uncharacteristically quiet, and he could have sworn he saw her face starting to heat up. Could the girl blush like flesh-and-blood humans too? "Could I call you Uncle Qrow, too...?"

Qrow's brain fizzled out for a moment. At least random kids calling him their uncle had happened often enough that he managed to catch himself easier. "Uh. Sure, kiddo. If you want."

She lit up again. "Really? Thank you!" With a blur of motion, she zipped over to him and locked her arms around his midsection, nearly making him cough again. "This makes me so happy! I appreciate it so much! I-it would make me very happy if you kept being so nice to me!"

Qrow's heart shattered just a little bit. He knew the girl hadn't meant it that way, but it sounded so goddamned depressing. He knew James and Winter weren't treating her like shit- he knew they were both just kind of repressed and really bad at showing their emotions- but it was such a familiar phrase that went straight to his gut. He'd never _said_ anything like that, obviously, not out loud, but god had he felt it. And what gutted him was he recognized the same feeling in so many of his kids.

_It would make me very happy if you kept being so nice to me._

Ren and Nora, who were parent-less and had no home to return to. Oscar, another orphan who'd gotten dragged into this; Jaune, who felt he almost never did anything right; Weiss, who'd endured her father's abuse for years; Blake, who he'd held on the roof one night when he'd found her up there and she'd whispered out a story about a boy who'd lost his soul and taken it out on her.

Didn't they all feel that way in the end?

He returned the hug and patted her head. "It's all right, kiddo. You deserve it."

The familiar _tap tap tap_ of Winter's heels made him raise his head. Penny quickly zipped back, standing straighter, and plastered on a no less genuine but still rehearsed smile. "Hello, General Ironwood and Winter!" she said as the two in question approached from the direction they'd come from, as cheery as ever. "Do you need me to do something?"

"Oh, uh, no, not today," James said, with such an insane amount of awkwardness it made Qrow want to put his head through a wall just hearing it. "In fact, I think you should...go find one of your friends, do something you enjoy."

Penny's head tilted to the side. "Really?" she asked, blinking rapidly.

Qrow turned and caught the larger man looking vaguely guilty as he coughed into his fist and straightened. They had probably caught the last few things they'd said, which probably made them feel a little worse. Okay, so maybe Qrow could have approached the subject a little more gently, but that always took way too long. "Yes. You see, what i meant the other day was, I simply think you should keep a responsible balance of work and free time because I know how important your job as Mantle's protector is to you. Training and patrolling is important, but you are more than free to...have fun."

Qrow withheld a snicker. "Have fun" was a phrase James hadn't said in such a long time, he could tell, it felt awkward saying now.

Winter glanced between the now beaming Penny and Ironwood and rolled her eyes. She probably thought no one had caught it, but it just made Qrow want to snicker more. She leaned over and elbowed James in the gut, making him startle, and put on a smile. "By the way, Penny, those earrings look quite nice on you. I assume your father made them?"

"Oh, yes he did! Everyone else is getting them, so I wanted some too!" Penny clapped her hands together and practically sparkled, looking nothing more like an actual teenage girl than a special operative at that moment. "I even saw that operative Harriet had gotten some, and operative Elm!"

"Well, that's nice. As long as it won't catch on anything, do be careful with that."

Qrow turned a triumphant smirk to the general. "See? Spreading it like a virus," he said in a sing-song voice as he started walking backwards, hands in his pockets. James himself almost, _almost_ rolled his eyes as he did. "I'm heading out with Clover and Weiss. See you later, alligators."

Penny turned and grinned at him, waving exaggeratedly. "See you later, Uncle Qrow!"

Just before the door to the mission room closed, Qrow caught surprise flicker across James' and Winter's faces. Winter looked to the side, and just for that split second in time, he could have swore he saw a tiny smile appear on her lips.

He turned around and switched focus to his latest method of torturing Clover without being called out for being inappropriate. It was his favorite game, after all.


End file.
